Web Developer's Secrets [Paperback]

Harold Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 1997 | Series: Secrets

To stay ahead in the Web revolution, programmers need to be fully up-to-date with the latest technologies and understand cross-platform development. This text provides the insights, techniques and tools needed to understand the latest in Web development. The book's main focus is to show the user how to accomplish hands-on Web development tasks. It teaches users how to maintain and configure their own Web server and also to create and use ActiveX controls and Java applets in Web applications. The accompanying CD-ROM includes all source code from the book, the ActiveX Control Pad, and demo versions of popular tools such as VBnet Applet Designer, Webster 2.0 and Web Site 1.1.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There are a few ways to add functionality to a brochure-style Web page that is designed with vanilla HTML. From simple scripts and forms to full-blown applications and databases, developing for the Web is a busy area. Web Developer's Secretssorts through techniques available on the Win32 platform and presents a step-by-step guide to add function to form and substance to style.

The book is organized in a consecutive fashion, covering basic HTML in the beginning and finishing with Web databases. Although the chapters aren't exhaustive in detail, they do cover a wide breadth of material. The book's first major section is devoted to creating Web content and includes an introduction to Web concepts and terms; a listing of HTML tags with examples; plus information on graphics and multimedia formats, VRML, and FrontPage 97. The second section covers the variety of scripting options available and includes extensive coverage of JavaScript, VBScript, and ActiveX. This section includes sample scripts as well as links to other examples and information. The next section teaches you to add executable content to your Web site and includes chapters on ActiveX Web applications, Visual Basic 5, and Java. Both Visual Café and Visual J++ development environments receive their own chapters for discussion. The final section is dedicated to deploying the client/server model on the Web with emphasis on Web databases, CGI scripting, ISAPI, and Active Server Pages.

The enclosed CD-ROM contains source code from examples in each chapter. It also features the Microsoft ActiveX Control Pad, the Sun Java Developer's Kit (JDK) 1.1.1, and WebAction 2.0, which allows programs developed in Visual Basic, Delphi, and other languages to run off of O'Reilly WebSite and Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS).

Web Developer's Secrets is appropriate for intermediate-level users as the book assumes a degree of familiarity with its subject matter. At some point, advanced readers may want a more detailed text on one of the smaller subjects assembled here. If you are just discovering the possibilities of developing for the Web, there is enough information gathered here to put you on the right track.

Product Details

• Paperback: 574 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc (Computers) (June 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764580159
• ISBN-13: 978-0764580154
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,704,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For Harold Davis, a typical day's (or night's) work might involve photographing star trails from the top of Half Dome, investigating the close-up patterns of early morning dew drops with his camera, or finding a new location for photographing the Golden Gate Bridge.

Harold Davis is an award-winning professional photographer. He is the author of more than 30 books, including Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis (Focal Press), Creative Black & White: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley),Creative Composition: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Night: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Close-Ups: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), The Photoshop Darkroom: Creative Digital Post-Processing (Focal Press) and Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers (O'Reilly). Harold writes the popular Photoblog 2.0, www.photoblog2.com.

Harold is a popular presenter on digital photography topics. His workshops are often sold out.

Harold is well known for his night photography and experimental ultra-long exposure techniques, use of vibrant, saturated colors in landscape compositions, and beautiful creative floral imagery. He is inspired by the flowers in his garden, hiking in the wilderness, and the work of great artists and photographers including M.C. Escher, Monet, van Gogh and Edward Weston.

Harold lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Phyllis Davis, a graphic designer and writer who frequently collaborates with Harold on book projects. They have four children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor explanations, May 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Web Developer's Secrets (Paperback)

The code examples were not clearly explained, making it difficult to use the example as a starting point for you to write your own related code. I think it tried to cover too many topics, and covered none very well. After trying unsuccessfully to use this to learn new web programming, I bought 2 very good JavaScript books. For awhile I still tried using this book as a reference (who wants to abandon a $45 book), but it was of very little use.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Introduction To Web Development, November 4, 1999

By 

Boris A. Velikovich (Reston, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Web Developer's Secrets (Paperback)

This book is a well-written, easy to follow introduction to Web development. It is quite comprehensive and addresses basic HTML features as well as more advanced topics like ASP, IIS, and Java applets. The only problem with this book is that it already needs a second edition -- things go extremely fast in the Internet world. For example, something about XML and Java servlets would be quite helpful.