HTML 4.01 Programmer's Reference (Paperback)

~ Chris Ullman (Author), Sean Palmer (Author), Simon Oliver (Author), Stuart Conway (Author), Cassandra Greer (Author), Christian Jarolim (Author), Gary Damschen (Author), Daniel Maharry (Author, Editor), Jon Stephens (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Suitable for almost anyone who develops Web applications, HTML 4.01 Programmer's Reference provides a thorough tour of HTML and related standards, covering every tag and attribute in the new 4.01 standard.

The strength of this book is that it serves as a guide to some of the best thinking in Web-page design using the latest in approved (and emerging) Internet standards. The authors explain HTML literally from the ground up and cover the structure of Web pages, starting with headers to body tags. Subsequent sections drill down into formatting text and common features like tables, links, and images. Throughout the book, the authors provide advice on the right way to do things for good cross-browser Web design. There's plenty on more advanced (and vendor-specific) features in both the Microsoft and Netscape browsers--for example, on frames and cascading style sheets.

The book consistently teaches best practices on what works and what doesn't. Later sections look at "deprecated" or obsolete tags. An appendix that lists every HTML tag and its level of support from HTML 2.0 through 4.01 and on browsers from Netscape and Microsoft from version 3 through version 6 more than justifies the cost of this reference.

Besides HTML 4.01 support, the book also offers a glimpse of new or emerging standards that every Web developer arguably should be aware of. From aural style sheets (which provide tags that work with sound and voice), to XHTML 1.0/1.1 and XHTML Basic (the designated heir to WAP/WML for wireless), HTML 4.01 Programmer's Reference provides a look into the future of Web content. Its cross-browser perspective on some best practices for designing Web content adds yet more value. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Comprehensive reference for HTML 4.01 and related standards
• Introduction to the HTTP protocol and Web standards for HTML
• Body and head elements for Web pages (including Microsoft and Netscape browser extensions)
• Text formatting tags (including white space and line breaks, lists, and comments)
• URLs explained
• Hypertext links (anchors and hrefs)
• Using images as links
• Using bitmap and vector graphics (including GIF, JPG, and PNG formats explained)
• Forms and HTML controls (including form, input, button, textarea, select, option, and label tags)
• Form submission
• HTML tables (including column grouping)
• Frames and framesets (including floating and inline frames)
• Scripting tutorial (including events)
• Embedding objects
• Style sheet basics (including cascading, rules, and background options)
• Character styles with fonts
• Positioning elements with style sheets (the box model)
• Styling lists and tables
• Aural style sheets (including the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), plus tips for making HTML accessible)
• Reference for deprecated and obsolete HTML elements
• History of current browsers
• Microsoft- and Netscape-specific HTML tags (including marquee and layering tags), techniques for cross-browser coding on multiple platforms (the OS and browser spectrum), and detecting a browser and an OS
• Scripting
• Cross-browser style sheets (tips and best practices)
• Internationalization techniques
• Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and the Document Object Model (DOM) for Microsoft and Netscape browsers
• Emerging Internet standards (including XHTML 1.0/1.1, XHTML Basic, and SMIL 1.0)
• Reference appendices for all HTML tags (including browsers supported)
• MIME types
• CSS properties and core DOM features

Product Description

HTML is the language of the web. If you need to build a web page, then you'll have to start with HTML. The most recent specification: HTML 4.01 defines several new features including expanded support for multimedia, style sheets (including aural style sheets, and the new CSS specifications), scripting, and new accessibility and internationalization standards. HTML 4.01 also includes updated support for familiar features such as text formatting, hyperlinking, forms, frames, and tables, and supports the very latest browser versions including Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 6 and Opera 5.

HTML Programmer's Reference (4.01 Edition) covers all these new and established features in detail and provides you with the knowledge and the skills to write great web pages that will be supported by all major browsers.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: Wrox Press; 3rd edition (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861005334
• ISBN-13: 978-1861005335
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,396,405 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am surprised no one has yet post a review for this one...., August 22, 2001

By	Edward Lin (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

Honestly, I just got the book today. But guess what, I've been glued to my desk for 5 hours by now... First of all, if you know what it feels like to have ALL of your questions answered regarding the webpage you're working on then you know how I feel right now. This book is every bit competent as it was written to be - an html "reference." I am no newbie in html but still, I like how the book organize and explain the syntax and methodology of this language. My favorite section of the book was on style sheets, not only did I learn quite a few new tricks (or maybe they were simply not listed in my other reference) but I also found the cross-browser reference very useful. This is a fantastic reference that's full of examples and thoughtful materials. Just so you know, my other reference is the well-know "html 4 for the world wide web" by Elizabeth Castro. I must say it is well deserved the praise and hypes because nothing I've seen can topper this champ for for it's purpose -- it'll get you started in no time. But trust me, after you start programming in html for a while, you'll need a more in-depth reference. well, look no further, this is IT. At first I was hesitated to buy this book because there's no review on it......now I'm just a happy reader.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dog-eared already., November 24, 2002

By	William Oterson (About 50 miles, or so, east of Manhattan.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the only book for HTML 4.01 needed. Written and arranged so that information is easily found and understood. An excellent, comprehensive resource for both novice and experienced alike as it touches on everything one would need to know, forms-tables-style sheets-deprecated's, etc.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hands Down, Great Read, May 10, 2005

By	dethwulf - See all my reviews

I was a seasoned HTML programmer a few years ago. Since then, I fell out of the craft and needed a book to start from the beginning so I wouldn't miss anything. This was that book. Examples, references, and meaningful information pertaining to the language. Recommended to anyone looking for a place to start on their own webspace.