Customer Reviews

HTML Stylesheet Sourcebook (Sourcebooks)

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This book concentrates heavily on how the programming would affect typography on the web and explains in detail in how to achieve that look. Graham explains selectors, properties and values in detail and points out bugs in the popular browsers such as Explorer and Netscape. Every chapter has a summary. Inside the front and back covers of the book has a table of property summary for quick reference. Readers have to have some basic knowledge of HTML but this book does review some important HTML tags. As a typographic designer, I strongly recommend this book.

I am a web developer and designer. When I can't remember what CSS properties go with which elements, I get my copy of the HTML Stylesheet Sourcebook off the shelf. I especially like the CSS language reference that explains exactly what each property does.

This is the book that got me away from font tags two years ago and set me on the road to HTML 4.01 compliance. The fact that I still haven't found a web site with the same information as accessible and well-organized is either a testament to the quality of Mr. Graham's book, or a lack of decent online CSS references.

Graham is able to explain things quite easily if you have any questions. Rarely, however, could I find myself reading a book like this cover to cover. If you want to learn how to design in CSS, then this book can help you, but you could save some money and look for on-line resources. This book is best used as a reference tool and detailed information when you need to understand something better. It can help you become quite proficient.

On the plus side he is thorough and easy to understand, on the negative side, all of the pictures are black and white. "Cascading Style Sheets: Designing for the Web" by Lie and Bos has all color pictures, making certain examples more powerful in nature.

Bottom Line: Both books are highly recommended, but neither should be used for people just starting HTML. Be proficient in HTML before you get these books or you may be confused. I feel confident in CSS specs with these books as a resource.