Customer Reviews

HTML for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS, Fifth Edition

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I just finished teaching an introductory HTML course using this textbook. I wanted to choose a book that taught proper (X)HTML syntax, and the choice ended up being between this book and the O'Reilly HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide. I selected this one due to this book's more "visual" approach, its brevity, and its cost (about half the cost of the O'Reilly one).

However, many of the students were confused and frustrated by the layout of the text. The material is more or less presented in a "step by step" fashion, and in most cases the text the student is to change is highlighted in pink to make it easy to spot. However, there are many instances where one area of the code is highlighted, yet more than that area of the text needs to be changed in order for the page to look like the example. Additionally, the author will periodically go off on "side bars" about other things that can be done with a particular topic (table borders, frames, etc.) without notifying the reader that this doesn't have anything to do with the exercise they're trying to work through. Many students were thrown off by this because they didn't see the stuff they just typed in referenced on the next page. There were also several instances where parts of the source code were left off, trusting the reader to infer where it should be placed. This is something that is relatively easy for someone who already knows HTML already to do, but can be frustrating for beginners.

On the brighter side, the content of the book is very comprehensive for such a small text (it even includes a chapter about writing web pages for wireless devices), and it contains helpful (X)HTML tags, CSS properties, special characters, and hex color references in the appendices. The source code in the 5th Edition is also a HUGE improvement over the previous... everything is kept pretty consistent throughout, and it's nice to see a book geared towards beginners pushing readers toward writing valid (X)HTML.

I've been wanting to learn HTML for a long time now. I stumbled on Elizabeth Castro's 127 page Visual QuickProject guide, "Creating a Web Page with HTML" in a book store and bought it. It was a really good introduction, but didn't go into the level of detail that would make someone really able to use HTML, so I purchased this book. This is an excellent book that gives details in a clear manner with lots of easy to follow examples. I also liked the order in which she presents things. I never felt like I needed to get to the end of the book to understand what I read in the beginning (which happens frequently with technical manuals). I really feel that I now have a good grasp on (X)HTML and CSS.

I would recommend that if you have absolutely no experience with HTML or CSS that you also get the QuickProjet Guide and go through that one first. I think having that as a foundation helped in a few places where I might have been a little lost with the detailed reference otherwise.

I decided that I wanted to learn Web Design and so logically, I am starting out with HTML. This book had rave reviews as most of the VQS books, so I was anxious to get started with it.

Just so you know, the approach that I took with this book is since it is set up in a step by step format, I decided to build a page along with the examples so that 1) I could practice, which would help me remember better and 2) to make sure that everything worked. Well, at first things were going great. Then I ran into a section of code that did not work. I spent at least a 1/2 hour of my study time trying to figure out what in the heck I did wrong, only to find out that if I had read a little further that IE does not support this code. Why in the heck wasn't that said at the outset before I starting inputting the code??!!

Then don't even get me started on Chapter 8 on CSS. I spent so much time on this getting really frustrated because the code did not work on selectors. I started even doing searches on the net to find out what I was doing wrong. Apparently, additional code is needed. Keep in mind there is nothing in the examples on the page to show that this code is needed. I feel this is pretty much NEED TO KNOW information especially since this book is targeting the beginner. If you are anything like me, time is a commodity and I don't have time to waste on trying to figure out information that should already be in the book. I am still in Ch 8 and sitting here debating if I want to continue to use this book to learn HTML/CSS. It's hard now to continue because I have lost interest feeling that I may possibly be wasting valuable time typing useless or depracated code.

From what I have read, I do not understand why there are 5 stars all over the place for this book. If you are an absolute beginner, you may be confused and frustrated. I understand that confusion and frustration may be a part of learning anything, but I think it is a little too much. I may skim through a few more chapters to see if it improves, since everyone is raving about it, but ultimately I think I am going to try another source for learning HTML/XHTML/CSS.

Something else I learned new though ~~ Just because people rave about a book here, no matter how many raves, the book can still really stink.

I purchased the book for one specific reason. To learn a bit about (X)HTML and CSS. This book did exactly that.
If you are looking for a book that will hold your hand step by step to create a website from start to finish THIS IS NOT THE BOOK FOR YOU.
This book is a learning tool for you to process yourself and apply as need be. If you are a programmer, like another review author found herein, you may be used to finding HOW-TO articles to execute specific tasks. You may find them here, but not in a specific order that will plainly walk you through any sort of step-by-step. The book is exactly what it states. A visual quick start guide that will help you understand what HTML and CSS are and how to use it.
THIS IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT WEB DESIGN, THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT MARKUP LANGUAGE! AND A GREAT BOOK AT THAT!

It works just like the links in the web, eg: forgot about how to add an image in a page, then go to page xxx. the instructions are short and precise. there are also useful tables that I look up a lot when creating a page. So there's no need to flip pages when I forgot the css or html tags. There's also pictures that accompony the instructions, which is quite useful.

There are millions of Websites up and running on the Internet today. Although they vary significantly in their content, design, and use of technology, they all have one thing in common - they are dependent upon programming languages such as HTML to communicate with viewers. It's the HTML "coding" that presents text, graphics, photographs, sounds, video, and other programming options. A good understanding of HTML is necessary to produce an operational and effective online presence.

Elizabeth Castro has written HTML for the World Wide Web to provide Website designers of all skill levels with the latest ground-breaking HTML, XHTML, and Style Sheet tags. She presents a variety of sample scripts and illustrations to assist designers to create dynamic Websites. Whether the designer uses a commercially available HTML editor or works from scratch, this book will provide new and exciting programming options that can be put to immediate use!

The book is written in a clean, concise, and straightforward manner, cutting through the mountains of writing that weigh down most other books. After providing some brief Website design tips, Castro moves to the heart of the book, programming tags. Available programming tags are clearly presented and discussed, and accompanied by sample scripts and illustrations of their actual use on the same page. No need for page flipping here to see what each tag can accomplish.

Are you interested in putting some exciting programming features to work? Elizabeth Castro suggests that beginners read through the entire book and follow strict HTML guidelines when at all possible. Although her book is intended to be a strict HTML resource tool, it can also serve as a Website design guide that will offer quick design solutions to meet the growing demands of online publishing for a variety of users.

Castro recommends that Websites be designed simply, fast-loading, and accessible to those using a variety of browsers, platforms, and monitor settings. According to Castro universality is key. Her pet peeves are overpowering backgrounds and unwanted, unsolicited, self-loading obnoxious sounds! A convenient fold-out color chart at the back of the book identifies a selection of available Website colors. Other charts include listings of tags, special characters, and helpful Web development tools.

This is a top-rated book. Keep it within easy reach of your computer while designing Websites. It's extremely easy to read and thumb through to find the tag scripting and other information you need when you need it. Feel free to highlight text on pages, to fold the corners, and to insert bookmarks. Have it on hand. It's absolutely one of the best HTML guides available. Highly recommended!

I have an honest confession, I'm a programmer, but I had no idea how to code HTML for some time. I first tried HTML for Dummies, but it was of no use. Then after reading the reviews, I tried this book and now I'm glad I did. This book has helped me to get up to speed in my web development projects. It's a great book to start with and also an excellent quick reference for those who already know HTML.

I read the excellent reviews of this book, ordered it then adopted it for college level course as an intro to HTML after my other book went out of print. After 2 semester now I find the book is very difficult for students to follow to build their own web sites. Examples are not complete enought and I have to fill in a lot of things for my students. My students range from Junior and Seniors at a University to Grad students from a wide range of disciplines.

I now realize this book is not clear enough to really help those new to HTML.

I use this book for classes and workshops that I teach. It is quite simply the best book of its type for under US$40. There are a couple of excellent titles from Wrox that deliver similar information, but they miss this price point.


Castro's book comes in at just under 500 pages, which is as succinct as one could hope to get with the level of detail that she reaches.

It does an excellent job of not only covering the most basic material but of touching on questions that will arise for intermediate web development students exploring logical "next steps" of web technology learning.

This is a great book for getting your coding skills up to speed! If you don't know the difference between html, xhtml, xml, sgml,& css then this is the book for you. Gives current standards throughout, and is clear and easy to use. It is a required textbook for a class I am taking, and has become my new favorite web-coding/design reference. Contains many clear and well-explained examples, and will allow you to hand-code like a pro.