Customer Reviews

Web Design in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When a book is as good as this one, later editions can't improve it; they can only update it.

That's what this one does. The second edition of Jennifer Niederst's comprehensive reference on web design now takes account of HTML 4.01; the stuff on browsers takes account of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and Netscape 6.

And what else is there to say? Just like the first edition (but with a handful of additional topics and updates to the existing ones), this volume provides a thorough "desktop quick reference" on the entire spectrum of web design -- a general introduction to and overview of the Web itself; authoring using HTML, cascading style sheets, and server side includes; graphics (GIF, JPEG, and PNG formats, colors, and animation); multimedia (audio, video, Flash, Shockwave, and introductory Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language); and advanced topics like JavaScript, DHTML, XML, XHTML, WAP, and WML. The appendices still provide easily-thumbable tables of HTML elements, attributes, tags nobody officially likes anymore, proprietary (i.e., browser-specific) tags, a chart showing which browsers support which CSS features, and all the special characters you can use in HTML (you know, &#these; &#things;).

And you probably also already know who Jen Niederst is; if not, go read my review of her book _Learning Web Design_, which you should buy first anyway if you're new to the subject. Anyway, she's a terrific writer with intimate knowledge of all the little details you need to know in order to do web design effectively; guides just don't come any better.

You know all of this already if you have the first edition. If not, then all you need to know is that this is an updated version of -- no contest -- the best available single-volume reference on web design, written by -- no contest -- the person best qualified to write it. It's complete; it's accessible; it's well-designed; it's O'Reilly.

Oh -- and the "least weasel" is the species of weasel pictured on the cover.

This book takes novice to intermediate designers to the next level and is also useful as a desktop quick reference. Many buy such books and end up never opening them or maybe a few times before it's outdated. I admit I'm one of those people, but not when it comes to the weasel (picture on the cover) book. This is the book the professor assigned for one of my first Web design classes and it is responsible for my learning tables, CSS, and knowing when to make a graphics file .gif or .jpg.

It's the most well worn Web design book I have in my collection and the only HTML book I ever bought. Thankfully, there is little that's changed in the format of the book because it wasn't broken. Robbins takes the appropriate steps to update it and expand the sections that are more relevant today.

Expect an entire orchestra of instruments relevant to Web design, along with the specific details and tricks you should know. It may seem a bit much that Niederst covers HTML, CSS, SSI, graphics, multimedia, JavaScript, DHTML, XML, XHTML, WAP, and WML. However, she appropriately magnifies essential things while the advanced or "you may want to explore" topics are touched upon to give an idea of how it works with suggestions for further reading

The book starts off by addressing the biggest challenge of designing a site that looks good in every browser and version. "Designing for a Variety of Browsers" has a two-page chart of various browsers and versions for the Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX environments, showing what each supports and doesn't support.

The next chapter covers another source of frustration for designers, "Designing for a Variety of Displays." If you monitor your Web visitor stats, then you'll probably notice that no size leads the majority especially with WebTV, handheld, and cellular devices accessing the Internet. There are screen shots of browser and system measurements and tips for designing for various displays.

Chapter 26, "Flash and Shockwave" explains what it is, advantages and disadvantages, introduces you to the Flash interface, adding a Flash file to a Web page, and integrating it with other technologies. Flash is a whole different animal and the book gives you the big picture of how it fits with designing Web pages. The following chapter on SMIL covers the same basics.

Part V addresses the advanced technologies including JavaScript, DHTML, XML, XHTML, and WAP and WML. It's useful to have these all close together at the end of the book to help you figure out which you may want to use for a Web project.

As useful as special characters can be, I never remember what to type to make the symbol appear, though I know these now. Finding the special character chart is the only complaint I had from the original edition and not even the index helped me find it, so I had to tab the page. This has now been remedied with one of the best improvements of moving the special character reference chart to the appendix for speedy access. Other appendices in the book are listings of HTML tags, attributes, deprecated tags, proprietary tags, and CSS compatibility and support.

As your design skills and knowledge grow, there is always a question that prompts you to open the book and get your answer. It holds true today as I retire the worn out book with a loose page thanks to a certain child and happily replace it with its new younger sibling.

***3rd edition update***
The third edition took a bigger leap from the second than the second took from the first. Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd ed., comes with a greater focus on Web standards and cascading style sheets (CSS). In fact, the book opens with a chapter on Web standards, whereas it was merely a footnote in the previous edition.

Rather than a sole chapter on HTML, the markup chapter blends HTML and XHTML. The chapter comes with notes explaining the major differences between HTML and XHTML. The greater emphasis on XHTML ensures newer designers dive right into XHTML and improve their chances of designing standards compliant Web pages. Furthermore, the appendix includes HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0 and 1.1, and CSS 2.1 references.

Ajax and WCAG 2.0 have barely been around in terms of publishing time. While the Ajax process isn't new, but its terminology and popularity are recent. Both items are covered, albeit briefly. Had Robbins wrote the book now, Ajax would not likely get huge coverage as it's a little advanced for the book's purposes and target market.

Accessible forms, mobile devices, internationalization, JavaScript with document object model (DOM), and document structure also gain more attention in the third edition. On the same token, the book reduces coverage of concepts that have gotten less attention such as the Web palette (Web safe colors), SMIL (synchronized multimedia integration language), frames, and DHTML.

Part III is devoted to CSS, which contains 10 new chapters -- a must as CSS becomes a design standard not something to play with. The third edition superbly reflects today's Web development environment and still sticks to its main purpose -- helping new and intermediate designers get up to speed on Web design. The book continues its role as a valuable reference.

If you design web sites, even just for your own personal use, this is a book to keep by your computer. In it you'll find the answer to just about any designing problem you face.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of web design is how to make a site not only attractive but accessible to a variety of browsers and to have it look the way you want it to in each. Niederst begins there. She explains browsers (most people seem to use Navigator rather than Explorer)and a variety of design strategies. To design for the lowest common denominator (for instance), splitting the difference or something for everyone --the choice is yours.

Chapters are divided into Designing for different browsers, for a variety of displays, Web design principles, a guide to the server. She includes a great overview of HTML, tags, text, links and adding images, tables, forms and frames. Under graphics she explains GIF, JPEG, PNG and teaches designing graphics. There's also lots of information on animated GIFs, audio, interactivity and javascript.

In a section titled Emerging Technologies she explains cascading style sheets, DHTML, XML, embedded font technology and internationalization. In the appendixes you'll find HTML tags and elements, list of attributes, deprecated tags, proprietary tags and CSS compatibility.

This book is basic and thorough, but it's going to have to be revised for Windows XP. That aside, it's a useful reference because it's easy to find information and Niederst seems to be able to anticipate problems, explain them and provide useful solutions. So far the answer to every question I've had has been easy to find in this book. I give it the highest recommendation. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I've recently decided to reserve those for exceptionally beautiful writing.

The second edition has greatly improved on my favorite Web development reference. I had nearly worn out my copy of the first edition. Jennifer Niederst has completely updated the content and the reference tables to incorporate in this guide the breadth of elements available for those that code and program the Web. This edtion is broken into sections that are easily scanned by the reader looking for answers to questions. The reference tables have been updated to now include elements that have been depreciated (or not longer considered fully supported by the standards boards), as well as the recently approved elements. This version is thicker than the last so I will have to gladly expand my notch for it on my bookshelf that is within easy reach.

Let me get this out of the way first: The information in this book is somewhat outdated by now. I wish there was a more current edition available.

With that being said; I found the information in this book to be most helpful. For the topic that it covers, it is the most efficiently comprehensive reference I have found. it provided me with a great understanding of things to consider when developing for the internet and also provided many examples/tips for tackling common webpage design problems. I felt the book was laid out very well and as a reference, I have had no trouble finding information when I have needed it. I found this book to be very easy to read and understand. My hat's off to Jennifer! Very nicely done!

As a web design student I was looking for a good reference book. This book is it! Hands down!! I was tired of trying to look up things I learned from 5 or 6 books, plus the internet. HTML, CCS and Introduction to Javascript and DHTML plus others. There is a great section on creating web graphics. I learned more from the book than I did in my "web graphics" class. Jennifer has laid out the cross browser/platform problems. This has already been a tremedous help in bringing everything I learned together in my mind. The format of this book is excellent and easy to read. This is not a beginners book. There are no fancy pictures and type is small. It might be overwhelming. For beginners I recommend Jennifer's book "Learning Web Design".

I am buying the second ed. because the first was terrific! For an html newbie, I was able to create a working web site with this book. Excellent organization, great examples, and I really like the way she explained the problems one faces with various codes, approaches, and how to avoid or overcome them. I'd say this is one of the best technical books I've ever read.

Harry

Whether First of Second edition, this book is definitely dated material, and in need of regular update. So, there a certainly parts that no longer apply to the current state of Web Design.

However, there are still portions that are pertinent and valuable for web designers, especially those just getting into the art. The author offers guidance from broad design principles to specifics of forms, frames and graphics. The basics have not really changed, just the tools. The layout of the book by topic makes it very useful for reference and the samples provide a basis for the budding web developer and designer (WDaD) to build on. Couple this book with any of a number of good HTML and Scripting books and the new WDaD will be well on their way toward designing usable and appealing web sites.

Bottom line - not worth list price at the time of this review; if you can get it at a steep discount it is still worth getting. P-)

This book provides an overview of just about all the topics required to design a web site, and is an excellent HTML reference. I especially like the way the browser compatibility of the various elements is presented. At a glance it is easy to see whether a particular element is compatible with a specific browser version.

This book is all I needed to get into coding web pages. It covers all the basics and some not so basic material. If you are familiar with computers and proficeint at getting around the internet, then this book is all you will need to begin creating your own little corner of the net.

One caution, this book is arranged in a cross between a reference guide and a "How To" book. By that I mean that chapters are grouped by subject (i.e. one chap will be formatting, one chap will be css, one chap will be tables, etc...). At the same time, the first chapter is the most basic subject and the chapters progress in a reasonable acension of difficulty.

Really, if you have the discipline to take it slow and learn one concept at a time and move on after you've mastered it, this book will give you a thorough understanding of the basics and a good grasp of the advanced HTML subjects.

I couldn't be more pleased that I purchased it.