HTML, XHTML, and CSS Bible (Bible) 3rd Edition [Paperback]

Bryan Pfaffenberger (Author), Bill Karow (Author), Chuck White (Author), Steven M. Schafer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0764557394 | ISBN-13: 978-0764557392 | Edition: 3

• An expanded, updated, and retitled edition of HTML Bible, examining HTML, XHTML-a set of extensions to HTML to make it more like XML-and cascading style sheets (CSS), which provide a simple way to add consistent formatting to HTML Web documents
• Focusing on reader feedback and changing industry trends, this new edition is a major overhaul that addresses the extensive changes in Web development
• Shows readers the best, most efficient way to use HTML and examines which peripheral technologies are worth learning for the long run
• Features "before and after" pictures that show the results of improved Web page coding
• Offers continued coverage of key topics, including site administration, dynamic data-driven pages, and many others, in addition to new sections on hot new topics such as blogs and content management

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

If HTML, XHTML, and CSS can do it, you can do it too...

Whether hand-coded or created by a visual editor, static or dynamic, most Web pages rely on HTML. The more you know about this language and its companion technologies, XHTML and CSS, the more flexible, creative, and effective your Web site will be. This all-new reference covers the latest updates and dramatic improvements in all three. You’ll learn which tools help you achieve specific results, how CSS enables consistent formatting, the most efficient way to code and use HTML, and so much more.

Inside, you’ll find complete coverage of HTML, XHTML, and CSS

• Understand how the Web works and the importance of the W3C® in establishing and maintaining standards
• Review the basic parts of a Web page and how they interact
• Discover how to maintain consistency with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• Create style rules, understand inheritance, and match elements by name, class, or identifier
• Learn to select the best Web technology for the objective you want to achieve
• Manage images, fonts, lists, links, tables, and special characters
• Explore tools and methodology for testing, publishing, and maintaining Web content
• Follow best practices in developing structured, accessible content and protecting it online
• Find out which peripheral Web technologies are most valuable in the long run
• Explore how server-side and client-side scripting can add capabilities to your content

About the Author

Bryan Pfaffenberger is the author of more than 75 books on computers and the Internet, including the best-selling Discover the Internet, from IDG Books Worldwide. He teaches advanced professional communication and the sociology of computing in the University of Virginia’s Division of Technology, Culture, and Communication. Bryan lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his family and an extremely spoiled cat.

Steven M. Schafer is a veteran of technology and publishing. He programs in several languages, works with a variety of technologies, and has been published in several technical publications and articles. He currently is the COOO/CTO for Progeny, and open source-based service and support company. Steven can be reach by e-mail at [e-mail].

Chuck White is a Web development professional who has written numerous articles and books on Web development, including Mastering XSLT and Developing Killer Web Apps with Dreamweaver MX and C#, and tutorials for IBM DeveloperWorks. His first published work on CSS was for Web Techniques magazine in 1997, and he has been working with large and small Web sites since 1996. He is currently a Web software engineer at eBay.

Bill Karow, in addition to writing several computer books, has served as a contributor or technical editor on more than 30 other books. Formerly in charge of systems development for Walt Disney Entertainment, Bill now serves as a computer consultant in the Orlando area when he’s not out riding his bicycle. He also has the distinction of having stood atop many of the buildings at Walt Disney World, fanfare trumpet in hand (with their permission).

Product Details

• Paperback: 816 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (July 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764557394
• ISBN-13: 978-0764557392
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > XHTML
  • #93 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > CSS

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, December 29, 2004

By 

Opera Browser User - www.opera.com (Curitiba, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HTML, XHTML, and CSS Bible (Bible) 3rd Edition (Paperback)

The title is misguiding. It's everything but an HTML, XHTML & CSS Bible. Title should read "Become a webmaster in a month". I expected to have: - The full HTML Specification with an example for each definition - Same for XHTML (DTD, rules to respect, validation, etc...) - Same for CSS and *PLEASE*, at least the basics of tableless CSS layout If the book were to expose the aforementioned information, it would exceed the 800 pages, and the author wouldn't have had to put some more information that is useful, I agree, but it's off-topic, sorry. The author should stress a lot more on standards. Standards are important, and one can't call a book a "Bible" if it only covers 75% of HTML, 50% of XHTML and hardly covers basics of CSS. It lacks information on the PNG file format (open source). Mention of the Opera Browser is almost non-existent, even if it's the most standard-compliant browser. Using tables to create a layout is old-fashioned and many good books (by Dan Cederholm, Jeffrey Zeldman or Eric Meyer) proove that one should *NOT* use tables for layout so that structure and content are clearly seperated from presentation. Without this discipline, the web won't be able to evolve toward XML. The book talks about image retouching, which again is off-topic, pretty much like SMIL, multimedia, FTP, maintainance, databases, weblogs, PHP & MySQL. I noticed several errors, and then I stopped writing them down. These are some of them: - p.93 PNG, is stored without being compressed doesn't loose color or image quality, and does support transparency. At least this can be achieved in Photoshop CS. - p.108 I find it sad that the author doesn't show how image maps are done with circles and polygons - chap.9 "Special characters" should show a sample for every single entity - p.184 The author puts the e-mail address into the code. How is it possible?! With all the spam problems people keep complaining, how come the author doesn't display the e-mail address thanks to a javascript to hide it from spambots? - p.188 in Part III instead of in Part II - p.210 He forgot that the label tag can nest the radio button and the text without ID. - p.284 div.div1 table should read div.div1>table - All examples are shown in IE or Netscape 4. Why not show modern browsers (Opera 7.8, Mozilla 1.8, Firefox 1.0) - p.379 user agent is not Opera but Firebird This is not a bad book, it has a lot of useful information, but what drove me nuts is that I wanted a "Bible" for these 3 languages. I had to buy other books. I hope now people who buy this book know it's a general-purpose book on web design.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a Reference, August 23, 2007

By 

Richard Cabral (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HTML, XHTML, and CSS Bible (Bible) 3rd Edition (Paperback)

If you are an experienced coder looking for an strict HTML, XHTML, or CSS reference, I suggest you move on to another title. If you are a novice in HTML using a WYSIWYG editor and want to start getting into the HTML code itself, then this is a good book for you. I bought this book to refresh myself in HTML, and CSS being away from it for several years. I program in VB and VC++ and have many programming references that are excellent and very concise. Unfortunately this book is neither. The writers persistently wander off on long winded tangents that seem to ramble on and on.... and on! The analogies had me scratching my head wondering just what exactly the comparative <sp> was? There are many small chapters in the last half of the book that are nothing but fluff and offer no real information.
In closing, there is useful information in this book for the novice. However it is not complete or in any particular order. Happy hunting.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Textbook for Beginners, January 4, 2006

By 

David J. Lauridsen Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HTML, XHTML, and CSS Bible (Bible) 3rd Edition (Paperback)

I have used this book as a textbook for an "Introduction to HTML" class I taught. I looked at several references prior to choosing on one, and this was by far the best formatted and most appropriate for those with little to no existing knowledge of HTML.

The previous reviewer's complaints are mostly unfounded, in my opinion. The appendix contains a more or less comprehensive listing of all HTML tags and their usage, etc. The chapters are well organized, easy to read, and comprehensive. If this book spreads itself a little thin at times trying to cover so much ground, it is necessary due to the inherently connected nature of HTML, XHTML, and CSS. Covering only HTML would not be useful for beginners who want to gain a basic understanding of these technologies. I assume the "HTML 4 Bible" by the same publisher is more what the previous reviewer was probably looking for.

I highly recomend this book to anyone wishing to learn HTML.