Customer Reviews

XHTML (Landmark (New Riders))

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Know your goals. If you expect to have mastered XHTML after this book, look elsewhere. As said by another reviewer all the details are not covered and one is referred to other sources, but it is a good place for beginners to start. You will have to visit online tutorials to complete this book and you'll still need to purchase a XHTML book that can be used as a reference.

The author's expertise provides one with an excellent historical section, but I personally found it to be more on the side of information overload.

XML related subjects are mentioned, but only seasoned HTML'ers will be able to comprehend the explanations, which I found too brief to really be enriching.

For those with some HTML experience there are better books out there and one should continue their search for another XHTML book. Beginners will be will served with this book.

This book explains XHTML and how to convert from HTML very good but it just does not stack up as a reference. Since most people who buy books about web development and design need to use books as reference I would probably not suggest it. If you have a good understanding of HTML and you would like to learn XHTML and it's differences then I would definitely recommend this book. It also has a few chapters on xml and xsl.

XHTML or Extensible Hypertext markup Language is one of the Internet's newer languages. XHTML begins by giving a basic overview of what it is. The authors devote 70 pages to elements such as big, cite, superscript and subscript plus many, many others! They go on to explain the major differences between HTML and XHTML and browser requirements and compatibility issues.

Other subjects included in XHTML are XSL (one chapter), Xforms (a very brief discussion), Creating Dynamic XHTML Pages (18 pages) and Working with Multimedia and Graphics (Chapter 10). In comparing XSL to CSS, there is a graphic to show when and where to use each language. Don't forget to read the chapter on converting existing HTML to XHTML.

With a 100 plus pages of reference material AND a CD-ROM, XHTML should provide the reader with a solid footing in this up and coming language.

This book provides a great overview of XHTML, from its origins and relationship to HTML, to adjacent technologies designed to work in conjunction with it. You'll primarily learn (1) how to migrate legacy HTML markup and (2) how to write new XHTML from the ground up. This book does well to cite available software to help you with both the conversion as well as the creation of XHTML. Towards the end of the book, the authors go into application-specific XML vocabularies and technologies designed to transform or style XHTML.

Novices will do great with this approach, but experienced web developers already knowledgeable with XML technologies may find the coverage of XSLT, CSS, etc. redundant with their other readings and/or life experiences. I've been in web dev for 6 years, so I was able to stop reading after Chapter 5. Perhaps this book may be construed as too shallow for the experienced developer. Or, perhaps there really isn't much more to say about XHTML to justify a thicker book. I won't know personally until I read at least one other book on the subject.

If you are new to XHTML -- as well as XML technology in general -- this book is great way to learn about the related technologies quickly.

I got this as I felt that XHTML was going to help me in my job.

Now I'm hoping the knowledge I've found in this book will help me
GET a job.

It's a good way to help an HTML designer make the transition to XHTML, but a good XML reference may be in order!

You do need some knowledge of HTML(at least know how to do a CSS!)