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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book I have read on Web Page Construction, July 9, 1999
By A Customer
In reality the course is only 20 hours long. The last four hours consist of an Introduction to Cold Fusion Studio.It took me longer than 20 hours to complete this course. Probably twice as long. I performed every exercise and added a few of my own. I enjoyed this manual so much I hated to put it down. In fact, the night I completed it I just looked at my computer with reverence dwelling on the knowledge I had received. I don't know whether it is HomeSite 4.0 or Ben Forta that inspired me. There is no doubt in my mind that the program is outstanding and a joy to use, but Ben Forta's presentation and method of teaching are also outstanding. He answered hundreds of questions for me that I did not even know I wanted to ask. Ben covered authoring and editing explanations, a detailed method of installing HomeSite and help on choosers, tag editors, inspectors, tips, hints and on line procedures. He devoted one whole chapter on configuring and customizing the HomeSite application and the reasons why. He color-coded and indented the editor so well it reads almost as well as a novel. He reviewed HTML page formatting and offered a simplified understandable explanation of RGB color. He inserted many hints; for example "Browsers will only display a table after it is received". "It may be a good idea to start a new page with a small table for quick page exposure". Frames. Love them? Hate them? Why to use. Why not to use. Printing frames. Target links. All items the novice would never know but explained very simply in this manual. Ben demonstrated how to edit a completed page, a subject necessary and interesting to all web page authors. He introduced the basics and displayed the results of codesweeper "a power house application". He introduced CSS, Cascading Style Sheets, a term that is very intimidating, but so simple when Ben explains it. It is a method of standardizing style on a web page using procedures very familiar to most of us. Managing your web site is covered in detail and the use of code templates, snippets, projects plus other site management tools are introduced and used, including tag verification, download time and automatic link verification (which is awesome). FTP protocol and its use are explained thoroughly but simply. This is Ben Forta's thing. You understand what he is instructing and know the subject after he is done. He may take issue with me but I compare FTP with UPS (United Parcel Service). UPS delivers and receives the package and FTP delivers and receives the file. It is the last two study sessions that really excited me as a student. I followed all of Ben's instructions and by simply substituting my local codes on his page examples I was loading and retrieving my html pages on the web in no time at all. It is so simple yet so exciting. But the real treat came when I gained access to the web and edited the remote (Internet) site without using my local directory. This to me was exhilarating and gave me a sense of power and control. It was here that I gazed at my computer in reverence and reflected over what I had learned and accomplished. I say "Thank You Ben Forta" . "It has been a real experience being in your head for 20 to 40 hours". "I am a lot better off for it". One more thing, this is the best book I have ever read on Web Page construction. Joe Dora
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by Nick Bradbury
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