Customer Reviews

HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, Fifth Edition

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fat book with a lot to like in it. The authors thoroughly explain HTML (and its recently-standardized twin XHTML) in its latest version (4.01). They also give a good explication of layout using the current standard (CSS2) of Cascading Style Sheets. They spend some time talking about embedded content such as pictures, Java applets and Javascript scripts. They look, too, at XML, which is the "meta-language" used to define XHTML.

At the time they wrote this book (2002) the versions of the standardized languages they discuss were in the avant-garde. But many of the old ways of doing things are now obsolete, and older browser versions gone. Unfortunately, the authors constantly advert to these early browser versions and their quirks, and spend much time discussing outmoded and non-standard techniques that by their own admission should be avoided. (Let me emphasize that they whole-heartedly approve of the direction away from non-standard and layout-laden HTML and toward the CSS approach.)

As it is, this book is quite usable whether you are writing old-fashioned HTML and loading your documents with physical layout instructions, or writing austere strict-version XHTML and restraining yourself to using style sheets to do layout. It has detailed essays on all the tags and a good chapter on CSS, and has useful appendices at the end for HTML grammer and tags, and for style sheet properties. It also has much that no longer applies. Perhaps the next edition will be less universally useful -- but also lighter.

This is the beginners book for learning HTML. As a professional Web developer, I appreciate finding a book, with impact and difference, in my career; this is one of those books. Each chapter is filled with valuable technical content. The chapter information provides simple and understandable samples. Even if you know alittle about HTML and have been programming in html, its not a bad reference. For those without HTML programming experiece, you'll be programming in no time at all. HTML editors are great, but sometimes you just need to know the HTML language, to be an effective programmer. You'll find this book very useful. I don't believe any understand of HTML is necessary before purchasing this book. A novice can easily pickup the book, read the chapters, and start programming. I've use the bookly constantly to look html properties and assist in my daily programming. Occassionally, I find a tip or trick and will help me overcome a programming barrier. This is an excellent book for indepth study of HTML.

The book has a very completed list of all of the tags and their attributes. However, no possible values for the attributes are listed. For people to learn HTML or to use this book as a reference book, this information is very important.

First and foremost, this edition of "HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide" is a well-written book. The use of simple language throughout the chapters make them very comprehensible. I really appreciate the way it handled the cascading style sheets, tables, forms, and so on.
However, I cannot understand the reason why the authors of this book included all the tags and attributes, and then decided to exclude all the attribute values. For this reason, I would not recommend it for anyone who is still learning the basics of HTML.
Intermediate (and advanced) learners should pay closer attention to it. It simplified both the Syntax and the Semantics. Also, the extensive coverage it gave Internet Explorer 6, Netscape Navigator 6.0, JavaScript, and a host of others, are satisfactory.
Overall, this textbook will prove a useful resource for any HTML non-beginner.

<em>Very thorough reference on HTML.</em> Very useful and well written. I will refer to this book again and recommend this book to someone interested in how HTML is defined and interpreted and the current state of the art in HTML writing. The target audience seems to be <b>graphics artists and web page designers</b>. The content gives excellent coverage of what all the HTML tags mean, how stylesheets work, and insightful discussion of layout considerations.

Extremely well written but my primary qualm is that I've never worked on a project where writing HTML was the key problem with HTML. E.g.: Almost nothing on scripting HTML. Should cover something on form validation etc. No good coverage on current trends to supplement HTML with Flash and PDF docs. No good coverage of performance testing and little on even HTML validation even by using different browsers. Does point out for each HTML tag/object what is proprietary to MS Internet Explorer and to Netscape. All said, if you are an HTML page designer then this book really is almost definitive.

Plus the author could talk about real tools. E.g. the section "Use the Best" tells you to use the best HTML editor but doesn't talk about DreamWeaver, FrontPage, or anything besides a brief mention of MS Word. Also, having worked at a web design company for a while I can tell you that fixed page layout is the norm for the graphic artists/page designers and not enough treatment of that is made. E.g. the section "Tricks with Tables" says "experiment...manually shifting text from one column..." and this is just not the standard way things are done. Should designers take advantage of HTML's ability to dynamically fit the available space? Probably. But authors need to explain this before any designers will start to do it. Also omitted are XSL:FO and content managers not to mention App Server/Web Server deployment issues.

Overall the book is easy to read and has lots of good ideas and good information. It is an excellent first book for an HTML programmer and can serve as a first class reference for anyone that works with HTML. I gave it four stars for covering HTML completely but not covering the ancillary issues that the title "Definitive" promises. <i>If the title was "HTML: The Markup Language" then I would have given it six stars.</i>

Now in its fifth edition, this encyclopedic tome published by O'Reilly and Associates badly needs an update since its last edition was published in 2002 and much has changed since then. However, it is still an essential reference to anyone who originates or modifies webpages. The HTML chapters are still excellent. The book starts with a history of HTML/XHTML/XML up to the time of the last edition. Next is a basic non-nonsense tutorial on writing webpages using HTML to get you started. It is only a chapter in length so that you understand what the skeleton of an HTML webpage looks like. Next are numerous chapters fleshing out what you can do to this basic skeleton of a webpage. This part starts with plain text and continues with images, multimedia, cascading style sheets, etc. This section is encyclopedic in that each tag is explained in detail. Its function is defined as well as its attributes, and an example is usually given showing how you would insert each tag in a webpage and the resulting output. The part of this book that really shows its age is the section on XML. It is really too basic to be of much use, and what is there is out of date by now. However, if you are just beginning with HTML this is still by far the best tutorial out there. No other book will do as good a job at teaching you the basics or providing the complete details for every HTML tag.

Now in a completely updated and significantly expanded fifth edition, HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide by webmasters Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy is a straightforward, user-friendly reference to designing practical, eye-catching web pages for either business or personal websites. HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide is enhanced with screenshots, sample code, easy-to-understand instructions and more, tutoring the reader in HTML basics ranging from lists and images, to cascading style sheets, forms, frames, and executable content. HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide truly lives up to its title as being a solid introduction to the basics, and very highly recommended for beginning HTML and XHTML users.

The reviews for "HTML & XHTML" by Musciano and Kennedy are already overwhelmingly positive (save a few disgruntled readers here and there). I can see why readers heap so much praise upon this book. The author's intent is to show the reader how to write clean HTML, arguing that since web surfers can always change their browsers' appearance settings, content is still more important than style. I am a rookie at making web pages, yet after tinkering with HTML for a few days, I had already found myself thumbing through the book for reference.

I am not a programmer, and I think novices could still appreciate this book. However, I *strongly* recommend that potential readers have some exposure to HTML and understand how it works before purchasing. (Check out Jennifer Niederst's excellent "Learning Web Design" if you need a tutorial on the Internet and HTML.) In any case, the book is mainly geared towards experienced programmers, but I honestly believe that anyone can get the most out of this book if they are willing to experiment with HTML continually through trial and error.

(originally published on www.last-child.com)

There are books you read that change your way of thinking (Designing with Web Standards), books your read for ideas (Usability: The Site Speaks for Itself), and books you keep within arm's reach at all times. This book, HTML and XHTML: The Definitive Guide, is one that you should always keep on your desk.

I'm saying this from experience. I'm a self-taught web programmer and have read over well over a dozen programming books during the past few years. This is the book that traveled with me from job to job. It's where I go to check on the proper use of tags and attributes. It's a well laid-out reference book that is actually interesting to read.
Who should get this book

This book is for those working directly with HTML code. It does not discuss programming languages, JavaScript, or CSS to any extent. However, it clearly defines how to use valid markup to build sites. I have found it invaluable for building forms and complex data tables. It's also a great foundation for those learning semantic markup from the beginning.

If you're looking at going full throttle ahead into web work, I'd recommend getting a book that's XHTML and XML based. This book has a little bit about XML, but it's pretty much an HTML referrence. If you've never done web stuff before, though, this is the book for you. Forget about the "For Dummies" series. They're good, but you'll quickly outgrow them. Get this book if you're a first time author. If you're not a new programmer, go with something more advanced.