XHTML (Landmark (New Riders)) [Paperback]

Chelsea Valentine (Author), Chris Minnick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2001 | Series: Landmark (New Riders)

If you're a web developer who has worked with HTML, you will find much of XHTML instantly familiar and readily usable. However, there are parts of XHTML that are derived from XML, which may be unfamiliar and perhaps a bit harder to understand. In XHTML, Chelsea Valentine and Chris Minnick provide the explanations and explorations that will help you become familiar and comfortable with the "X" in XHTML. XHTML addresses the need of working Web professionals to learn what XHTML is and how best to use it, and helps those who are contemplating making the switch from HTML to XHTML decide if and when to take the plunge. Both the authors not only write about and teach XHTML, but also consult and implement this technology as part of their workday routines. They've learned from their audiences and students what people most need to know, and what examples and illustrations best illuminate that information. That collective wisdom drives this book throughout.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book is written for web professionals who work with content creation and delivery issues and who want to learn what XHTML is and how best to use it. It answers the question as to why someone would want to take the time to switch existing content in HTML to XHTML as well as how best to utilize XHTML moving forward. The main goals of the book are:

-explain and provide examples about the relationship between XHTML and HTML, and XHTML and XML.

-explain and show how to implement standard, static Web content in XHTML with the same facility capability as in HTML.

-explore and expose the underlying XML structure of XHTML so that it may be properly stated in XHTML documents and so that the structure can be fully exploited. Because this enables XHTML to provide functions and manage text in ways that HTML never could, this is a crucial point to understand.

-describe how to convert HTML and XHTML via the most efficient means.

-acquaint you with the mechanics available to XHTML to control how Web documents appear when rendered in a browser using both Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL).

-describe how you can include nontextual information in XHTML documents, such as multimedia and graphics.

-explore various methods for accepting input through XHTML documents and for adding interactivity to such documents, including user input to forms (XForms), calling scripts, creating dynamic pages, and so forth.

-explore the benefits of XML-derived functionality in XHTML documents, particularly when it comes to using advanced linking techniques and creating and using customized markup or other previoously defined XML applications in the context of an XHTML document.

-acquaint you with emerging trends in web design, web development, and emerging XML/XHTML specifications that may impact your web activities.

There are no better people to learn XHTML from. Chelsea Valentine and Chris Minnick both teach and write about XHTML on a daily basis so they see what works and what doesn't. Learn from their experiences and avoid the pitfalls that they've already encountered. Gain the knowledge that they share with students and other professionals so that you too can create useable websites.

We've taken numerous quality assurance steps in writing and developing this book. It's important to us that we hear from our readers about their opinions on our books. If you would like to share your thoughts on this book, please write to us directly at [e-mail]. We welcome your comments!

Enjoy the book.

From the Inside Flap

Read what reviewers are telling us about XHTML.

"I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a very readable, up-to-date introduction to recent work in the W3C specifications they will be using for years to come." ~Phillip Hoschka, Architecture Domain Leader, W3C

"XHTML provides the reader a well-organized and comprehensive treatment of XHTML. The authors have done an excellent job of bringing many sources of information together in a single place, providing the reader not only a solid tutorial, but a good reference guide too. It's a must have for anyone trying to understand XHTML in order to convert their website to be XHTML compliant." ~Piroz Mosheni, President, Bita Technologies, Inc.

"XHTML is well-suited for veteran HTML coders with limited XML experience who want to get up-to-speed quickly with the new generation of markup techniques. It is a clear no-frills handbook, with a relentless focus on practical information. It's easy, conversational style and its reference to numerous online resources are an added bonus." ~PS Woodsp, Author of Flash 5 Developer's Guide

"New Riders' XHTML will be a valuable tool to anyone responsible for developing a Web page with the tools of the future. The depth of the material directed toward the implementation of XHTML, as well as the information provided about XSL and CSS suggest the author(s) have extensive experience in the Web development field." ~Tony Antoniou, BSc, MSc

Web Developer/Designer, finditclickit.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735710341
• ISBN-13: 978-0735710344
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,957,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking the transistion down an easier road., January 14, 2001

By 

Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" (Holland, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: XHTML (Landmark (New Riders)) (Paperback)

HTML is the underlying code for every web page your see today and XML is fast becoming the best way to produce web pages so why not combine the two and see what happens? That's exactly what the authors of this book have done and the result is a book that makes XHTML understandable and easy to use.

Understand the book is only 400 pages and that is more than enough o make sure you have an in depth coverage of the subject matter. The authors are truly experts in the field and their use of real world examples are proof positive.

Starting with an explanation of how XHTML came to be is only the tip of what this book covers. Then you go onto covering the conversion of HTML documents to XHTML in a step-by-step process.

The authors also cover tools, CSS, XSL, xFroms, scripts, objects, multimedia and finally advanced techniques. The appendixes included with the book give you a very complete listing of XHTML elements and attributes as well as CSS properties, resources and tools.

Finally there is a cd-rom included with ready to use examples and some demo software and tools and web resources. Overall this is the first book I have reviewed on this subject and it may very well be the only one I need.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is it an intro, migration guide or reference?, September 4, 2002

By 

Matthew D. Weseloh (The Colony, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: XHTML (Landmark (New Riders)) (Paperback)

What is XHTML? Is it just another trendy acronym for web developers to toss around? Is it the child of a marriage between Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Extensible Markup Language (XML)? Is it worth worrying about?

The authors of XHTML have chosen to answer in a variety of ways. This book takes several approaches to explaining XHTML. They range from a high-level view of "Where did XHTML come from?" to an attribute-by-attribute listing of valid XHTML syntax to an in-depth look at Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). There are also several chapters of "What's next?" topics, each touching on an aspect of internet development (multimedia, forms, graphics, and scripts).

So what is XHTML? It is the Extensible Hypertext Markup Language. It's brings order to chaotic world of HTML by forcing adherence to XML standards. It promises to separate presentation from information (data). It can force a web page to act like data, with the benefit that anything that can access data can use your web page (like text-to-speech devices, mobile devices, and more). It's a W3C standard that has progressed beyond the 1.0 specification referred to in this book (and this book was published in 2001!).

This book could have easily been called XHTML and CSS - because they devote many pages to the key role that CSS will play in the deployment of XHTML. CSS is the way that the presentation elements are extracted from the HTML document - leaving only the data behind.

The book mostly succeeds in bringing XHTML to a wide audience. It tries to be an introduction, migration guide, and language reference. I recommend it to anyone interested in taking their internet development to the next level.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a good place to start, February 20, 2001

By 

Dino Seelig (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: XHTML (Landmark (New Riders)) (Paperback)

XHTML, by Chelsea Valentine and Chris Minnick is a useful book; it gives the reader an overview of XHTML. The book does not cover all details, but refers to web sites and other books for more information. The choice not to dive in all the details makes this book an introduction into XHTML, and not an XHTML reference, although the reader can find a lot of details in the book. It's true, you learn all the predefined XHTML markup elements, including element and attribute usage as well as syntax. After reading the book, you understand the need for converting from HTML to XHTML, and the importance of using CSS, and XSL. The book also provides a picture of how XHTML is going to develop. Readers already familiar with books such as Steven Holzner's Inside XML would not benefit from this book. Readers looking for an introduction to XHTML would find XHTML a good place to start.