Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS (Wrox Beginning Guides) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "At one time, you had to learn only one language to write Web pages: HTML..." (more)
Key Phrases: quis urna, sollicitudin non, class attribute whose value, Value Purpose, Internet Explorer, Property Purpose (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

What is this book about?

Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS teaches you how to write Web pages using HTML, XHTML, and CSS. It follows standards-based principles, but also teaches readers ways around problems they are likely to face using (X)HTML.

While XHTML is the "current" standard, the book still covers HTML because many people do not yet understand that XHTML is the official successor to HTML, and many readers will still stick with HTML for backward compatibility and simpler/informal Web pages that don't require XHTML compliance.

The book teaches basic principles of usability and accessibility along the way, to get users into the mode of developing Web pages that will be available to as many viewers as possible from the start. The book also covers the most commonly used programming/scripting language -- JavaScript -- and provides readers with a roadmap of other Web technologies to learn after mastering this book to add more functionality to their sites.

From the Back Cover

As the Web has evolved, tools and methods for creating Web pages have also changed and matured. This book teaches you to create Web sites using a combination of new and mature technologies and shows you the best practices that have emerged for using these technologies.

In these pages you will learn to build Web sites with traditional HTML and its successor XHTML. You will see how CSS can be used to make your Web pages more attractive by controlling the presentation and formatting of pages, and how to use JavaScript™ to enhance the power of your pages. Along the way you will learn how to make your pages work in several generations of Web browsers, including new Web-enabled devices such as mobile phones. You'll also learn techniques that make your site more usable and accessible.

What you will learn from this book

• How to create Web sites using established standards
• The differences between HTML and its successor XHTML
• How to include images and links in your pages
• Methods of collecting information from visitors to your site using forms
• Ways to control the appearance of your pages (such as fonts, colors, and backgrounds) using CSS
• How to use tables, frames, and CSS to control page layout
• Design issues such as creating simple navigation and usable forms
• How to deliver Web pages to a wide range of devices
• The basics of using JavaScript in your pages

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone who wants to understand the language of the Web and learn to create Web pages. You should know how to access and view Web pages with a browser, but previous programming experience is not necessary.

Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 840 pages
• Publisher: Wrox; illustrated edition edition (August 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764570781
• ISBN-13: 978-0764570780
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #665,359 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid introduction to web front-end programming, November 17, 2004

By	Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I really like O'Reilly's Dynamic HTML, but this book is good as well. This book is more of a step-by-step walkthrough of HTML, through XHTML, CSS, layout and at the end an introduction to Javascript. The text is somewhat terse, but it's workable. Screenshots are somewhat heavy, but you would expect that in a book about a visual medium like the web. Some coverage, like Javascript, is a little too light to be genuinely complete in comparison with books like Dynamic HTML. Overall, a solid introduction to HTML, XHTML and CSS.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, but could be improved, June 21, 2005

By	Gopher (East Lansing, MI) - See all my reviews

As a person who already has some knowledge in html, I have found the book to be useful, if not entirely what I was hoping it would be.

The book starts at the entry-level of web development and through the course of the book adds to your knowledge base with each proceeding chapter. Chapters go over important features, as well as defunct features you might run into if your looking at the source code of someone else's site and some features that have no function now, but are expected to be useful for the next version of web browsers. For the most part, the information is good though from time to time you will get descriptions that would only make sense if you had played around with web development before.

The book also has the annoying habit of mentioning a feature and then saying "But you'll learn all about that in chapter " which becomes annoying after you've read this and similiar lines for the 20th time. There are also some exercises where you'll find yourself using features the book hasn't gone over yet, but fortunately, it tends to talk about it a little later in the same chapter.

The Appendices in the back do a reasonably good job at grouping everything you've learned for quick access, but often forgets to provide decent details so if you don't remember certain things about an XHTML element for example, you'll find yourself having to flip through the index and rereading that section of the book.

I would recommend this book to someone who is an intermediate web developer or someone with some experience developing websites, but for someone who is a beginner, I'd suggest looking around for a different book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Serves it's purpose.....I like it, March 5, 2007

By	C. Lindy "s1akr turned pro" (Monterey Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had an interest in web development years ago when I invested some time going through free html tutorials online. I also spent some money on a couple of books on html as well as JavaScript, but never finished what I started. About a month ago I purchased this book to get my feet wet again, and I have to say that this book served its purpose.

The title does say "Beginning Web Programming..." and the material definitely fit the title. Having finished reading the XHTML and the CSS portion of this book I feel very comfortable in writing XHTML documents. It also served as a handy, although heavy, reference during my practice coding sessions.

The CSS portion of this book took up two chapters. It served as a great introduction to CSS and it left me with enough know how to write simple stylesheets. As I tried to write more complicated stylesheet like defining rules for layouts using <div>, I found myself struggling and decided to purchase a more advanced book on CSS.

There are two chapters devoted to JavaScript on this book. From reading the titles of those two chapters I am under the impression that it will give you enough knowledge to download pre-written JavaScripts online and be able to effectively implement it on a webpage. I complete skipped these chapters as I had purchased a separate book on this subject.

All in all, this is a good book for beginners who want to gain the fundamental knowledge about building a website. If you want to become a professional this book serves as a good starting point, as it will equip you with the fundamentals and lead you to your next step in your studies to become a professional Web Developer.