Customer Reviews

HTML 4 for the World Wide Web, Fourth Edition

5 star:		(309)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

First of all, many books go into way too much detail in explaining the concepts of HTML. Most of the material in the thousand-pagers are useless. Ms. Castro cuts to the chase, presenting brief and accurate explainations of HTML tags, style sheets, and the creation and use of images that work on the web. The only other book on HTML that I've purchased in the past were the "for Dummies" volumes a few years ago. I put them down shortly after being bored to tears and severly discouraged. HTML seemed like a vast subject. In fact, it's the easiest language (if you can call it that)to learn on a computer. ANYBODY can write HTML code and Ms. Castro proves it in this book. A wealth of examples is provided on her website for each chapter. Don't miss out on this. WYSIWYG web site programs are nice. But, the real control comes from coding the HTML (with a WYSIWYG editor if you wish). You can do it. This is the book to get. Note to WordPerfect users: if you've ever used the Reveal Codes command in WordPerfect (I used ver 5.2 long ago), then HTML will come easily for you.

Having been in the HTML world now for a number of years, I am constantly looking for better references and tutorials. Elizabeth Castro has done both with this excellent book on HTML. Again and again I find myself turning to this book to find ways of doing things that I used to do in JavaScript (the "Gee I Didn't Know HTML Would Do That!" syndrome). What I like most is the format of the book; an excellent index allows the reader to easily look up specifics. The book contains some of the following chapters: Text Formatting, Images, Layout, Links, Lists, Tables, Frames (a big problem area for a lot of web programmers, well presented and explained here with some pretty neat hints and tips), Forms, Style Sheets (happily, this is heavily explained with four chapters dedicated to it's many facets), Scripts (wow! An HTML author who finally admits there are other languages out there! The author even spends a little time on the basics of JavaScript, however, she stays true to the focus of the book, only showing enough to wet the appetite before moving on), debugging (this is another biggy rarely covered by HTML authors, again well done here). The author spend some time even on publishing a web site. The problems and solutions to getting: a domain name, web host, transferring files, getting listed on search engines, etc. Several appendices: Tools, Special Symbols, Colors, and Tag Compatibility are covered. The index is very well done. This book is a must buy for any serious web developer.

I am a java programmer who never really learnt HTML formally. I needed to learn it for a project, and I was looking for a book that starts with basics, but doesn't leave you hanging after just explaining some basic concepts. Great reviews prompted me to buy this book but when I received it, I was disappointed with the small size of the book. But after reading it, VOW! Make no mistake folks. This book beautifully covers everything in its small size which many other books cover in thousands of pages. An excellent tutorial, and even a better reference after you have read it once. Despite its small size, I can't think of a topic that has not been covered well in this book. Easy going language, and visual depiction of concepts, I have never written a review for books before this due to lack of time, but I had to review this one as I was so impressed. And at this price, it's a steal. Covers the latest HTML 4 version which should last for some years to come. Don't think twice, buy it now.

I have seen too many HTML guides that are page after page of straight text with few illustrations and no examples. Now these are fine if you're just interested in theory, but what if you want something to get you started coding HTML?

At the recommendation of a friend I purchased this book. Within a few weeks of using this book, I felt very comfortable coding and editing HTML WITHOUT any kind of WYSIWYG editor (Frontpage, Composer). I started creating all my HTML pages using notepad or wordpad. I figured out how to do some simple style sheets, tables, text editing, all kinds of links, images, etc.

The book is set up like this: First it's organized into chapters by topic. Each chapter contains a number of new things to learn. Each section, such as "Using Background Color (page 98)" contains a short intro paragraph (usually no more than a few sentences), step by step written instructions, tips, plus two illustrations, one of the code and one of the output of that code. The book also contains a very thorough index, color chart, html tag list, and compatibility guide.

If you want to learn the basics of HTML this book is just the thing. It will take you through the whole process from planning, through design and building your site, to publishing it.

I knew nothing about making a website before reading HTML 4 by Elizabeth Castro. I found it to be written in such a way that it was very understandable, even simple. The author also uses good illustrations that shows you what the web page will look like if you write a certian html tag (which is invaluable). But, no matter how well the book has been written, we will still get stuck sometimes. Knowing this, Elizabeth Castro has not left us out there in the cyber wilderness on our own; she not only has a website where you can post your question for others to help you (or you may find your own question already answered there); but she also will answer your questions HERSELF, via e-mail. Yes, she has definately made learning html not only easy, but I really had fun with it too. (surprised me!)

If you are in search of an easy to read and usable book on HTML 4 then this is it. It is indeed very informative, written in language that is practical and easy to understand. If you need to do ANY web design at all, are a hobbyist and especially if you are a student like me BUY IT! I usually don't go in for the Visual Quickstart books as they are over simplified in their approach HOWEVER this text is clear concise and practical. The book does not lean toward Mac users nor PC but presents information on HOW the two big browsers (I.E. and Netscape) handle HTML 4. What browser supports what tag and or code etc. Great reference to have at your desk and learning the raw HTML really does give you more control over your design. In closing there are great sections on Cascading Style Sheets and Publishing on the web. The best out there so far for ages 10-100.

Anyone who is doing HTML, be it beginer or advanced developer should have this book. The BEST HTML book I saw. Every <tag> is explained in plain language. No garbage. Strong Buy. Real Value guide.

This is, in my opinion, the best HTML tutorial you can get. HTML is not something that requires a large tome to learn, and the "visual quickstart" aspect of the book lends itself perfectly to learning this subject. Castro covers everything you need to know, and this 4th edition gives an excellent presentation on style sheets. The text is very readable, topics are presented clearly, and simple concepts are never belabored. Another great feature of the book is how each topic is encapsulated in at most a few pages, making this not only a good tutorial, but also a decent reference. If you're going to be doing a lot of HTML hand coding, I also suggest picking up an additional reference (such as O'Reilly's Definitive Guide) that details every tag in more depth. Nothing more is really required, however, than this book to get you fluent in HTML.

As a professional web developer, I rarely read the visual quick start guide series. I come across this book when I start to teach some novice web programmers. To my surprise, this book is so concise and is quite different from many HTML books. The author introduces the major features of HTML 4 and web development in a very reader friendly and fun tutorial. Readers will not find web development is not a dry and tedious task. Take a look at the table of contents link on the left hand side and you will see the topics being covered in it.

I think it is an excellent start if you don't know that much about HTML 4 and found traditional books a little bit too boring to get start. It covers all the essentials and briefly introduce the future, XML. It is an inexpensive book too. However if you are looking for an indepth reference, you can take a look at "HTML: The Definite Guide". If you are serious about web programming after reading these two books, read Wrox Publication's ASP, ecommerce, databases and XML series.

I have owned the first and second editions of this book...was there a third that I missed? I learned to do my webpage designs basically from this book alone. I have others, but they just tended to confuse me more than anything.

I've recommended this book to others, have given my older editions away as I get the updated edition and will continue to do so. Very easy to read and understand. By far, the BEST HTML book around!

I recommend this book to anyone just learning to do web pages or to those with some experience who wish to increase their knowledge base using an easy to follow method. The sample pages and actual examples of the coding make it easy for even those who may consider themselve "computer illiterate" to understand how to design basic and more advanced web pages in little time.

This is a definite "BUY IT!" I'm hoping to get this newest edition for Christmas! ;)