Customer Reviews

HTML 4 Bible (with CD-ROM)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This "Bible" eases new HTML-coders into the language very gently and contains a variety of info. It introduces a very specific way to learn HTML 4 in tandem with Cascading Style Sheets and eventually JavaScript, which is theoretically the best way to learn the language... however some of the positioning tricks the authors suggest are still not supported by all browsers, and alternatives are not always suggested. There are a few typos that will frustrate more than a few readers. After spending time actually coding pages, the reader will want to find a specific answer to a nitty-gritty question or problem, but will only find an ambiguous "gloss". The book is a good start for anyone who is anxious about jumping into HTML. For the serious web builder and experienced coders, it offers a different slant on HTML 4, and excellent descriptions of CSS, etc., but will eventually need to be supplemented with another reference. It's not quite a "Bible".

Truly disappointed with HTML 4 Bible, usualy the Bible series publishes great books. This one should be titled my genearl, overall, meandering feelings about HTML and everything else under the sun. Not only are there numerous errors in the code samples and explanations, the author inserts text after text of off subject, and bad, information. Such as pages advising the use of "active" verbs instead of "passive" verb usage in one's web content, and wondering passages about Xanadu and 'what it' that infinite cross reference idea ever takes off - how "one day" it should be incorporated into web page design. This book, by its title, should discuss HTML coding, its uses and examples - it does very little of that. In my frustration I had to stop reading 3/4 the way through and returned it.

I cant' recommend this book under any circumstances.

FYI I purchased O'Reilly's "HTML Definitive" book instead and I'm very happy with this later choice.

This is a great book for an experienced Web developer. The authors take special pains to draw attention to what's new in HTML 4 and to indicate what works in each browser (and browser version). This book is always within reach of my computer. The index is excellent and the explanations and examples are clear and relevant. The appendices are also very helpful in showing what works in which browser.

I've seen many HTML books and this is the best one out there. So many of the books that are sold as HTML 4 books are really just re-packaged HTML 3.2 books. This one was written for HTML 4, which is really a different animal than HTML 3.2 It includes a comprehensive section on Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), the Document Object Model (DOM), and Javascript, and how the three work together to make Dynamic HTML.

This is an incredibly shallow book. Obviously I was too hasty in the store and saw what I wanted to see, not what's actually there.

In programming books, I always look for a reference section with a list of commands, how and why to use each of them, what to watch for, and preferably each with an example. The word "Bible" in the title promises just that, and the cover promises "100% comprehensive, authoritative". My quick read looked good: the book is filled with formatted definitions of the commands, what they're called and how to use them, just what I'm looking for.

Imagine my surprise when I read the "answers" more thoroughly and discovered that they're almost all fluff. Here's one example: the definition of "Heading" describes the following "attributes:" "id, class: used in conjunction with style sheets"; "lang, dir: indicate language and text direction; better specified in the BODY element unless this element is an exception to the rest of the page." "title: title of this element."

Duh: what do I type for "id, class, lang, dir, title" and what difference does it make. Ok, maybe the author doesn't want to be repetitive, so I look under BODY. Sorry, no such entry.

Oh, and by the way, the index reads annoyingly more like a concordance: every glancing reference to a word is listed; which means that most of the references are not worth reading.

I am trying to reconcile my experience with the many favorable reviews I see here. My guess #1 is that some of these reviews were written after a quick reading, by people who haven't yet looked for the "Bible" part of the book. And #2, since I have not read the "Cascading Style Sheet" section, maybe that section is "biblical".

But if you're looking for what I'm looking for, keep looking.

While this book helped me through the basics, it did so in a confusing and round-about fashion. All too often subjects were brought up, only to be glossed over and referenced to a chapter further along in the book. That jumping around made for very confusing reading. It was also dissapointing to see so many chapters written about such off-topic subjects such as verb usage and finding a topic for a web page. This book could have, and should have, been much smaller (read cheaper) for the actual HTML 4 information it contains.

When purchasing this book, I was expecting something along the lines of a definitive reference, with commentary and examples. What I got was something more along the lines of the New Testament - subject to interpretation and discussion as to what the authors really intended to say based on prophecy.

I am disappointed at spending the money on a book with typographical errors and omissions in the reference sections. If you are not already a sage in the world of programming, you may find this book completely confusing. If you already are an expert, with many languages under your belt, including HTML already, you'll find this book on the shelf more often than on your desk.

However, if you are a skilled programmer, but have very limited exposure to HTML, I would highly recommend this text. By trying to figure out how to make style sheets actually work for anything complex, beyond the presented examples, you will almost certainly learn a great deal. I suspect that this is the target audience for this text. If so, good job.

When the next edition comes out, please organize your reference section with more of an instructional design focus. Start with the highest elements, and drill down completely, with each possible option and value (or a decent cross-reference to the possible values). This comment particularly applies to the CSS section, where it is unclear which option is usable for a given HTML element.

On the upside, I did like the presence of the "Where to go next" portion of each chapter. As a prose-style book, this is very helpful.

I didn't realize how different HTML 4 was from HTML 3.2, the previous version of HTML. This book is really excellent because it teaches HTML 4 from the ground up.

HTML 4 is capable of producing "dynamic HTML" because it supports the document object model (DOM), cascading style sheets (CSS), and JavaScript. This book is so useful because it teaches you the basics of HTML along with enough about these peripheral technologies that you can really hit the ground running. The comprehensive appendix of HTML is also invaluable. This is truly a resource of Biblical Proportions.

I really enjoyed the book and found that about three hours after opening the book, I had a page up. Now I am looking forward to learning Javascript and enhancing what I know. Would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about HTML

I've been programming in HTML since the World Wide Web first gained popularity, and let me tell you something, this book is magnificent. It allows both the experienced programmer and the novice to learn the new HTML 4 Way, from simple tags to style sheets to JavaScript, this has it all. And for those expert programmers, this is a handy reference tool, as well.

What I really like about this book is that it is so comprehensive. It discusses issues related to helping Web site visitors navigate around your site in greater depth than any other book I've seen. It really has some great insights. It also has heavy-hitting chapters about CSS and dynamic HTML. This book tackles both advanced issues and the basics in a way that is easy to read and great for future reference. I can't recommend it enough.