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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great and Informative Book, July 21, 2010
This review is from: Introducing HTML5 (Voices That Matter) (Paperback)
It's hard to find informative books these days because it seems everyone claims to be a Web standards expert, and bookstores are filled with reference books that aren't worth the paper they're printed on. This book is different. It's written by two people who actually know what they're talking about and live and breathe what they're writing; it shows.
Many have recently purchased "HTML5 for Web Designers" by Jeremy Keith. It covers many of the things described in this book and does a very good job, but it's not long enough to go into any necessary and helpful detail as it's only 85 pages. This book only costs a few more dollars and is more than double its size and detail. I'd strongly suggest buying this book instead of that one.
"Introducing HTML5" is far from a stuffy reference manual as it contains lots of little jokes within to maintain the reader's full attention, and there's not so much there to make the book seem silly. The book is, while not overly wordy, extremely informative. Mostly what is the most important part of understanding HTML5 are the semantics that are involved in using the new elements, and the book goes into great detail with plenty of examples on exactly how to markup documents using the new elements HTML5 provides. That's only just a portion of the book. WAI-ARIA, Audio and Video, Canvas, Data Storage, Geolocation, etc. are all also presented in ample detail.
The only complaint I have about the book has to do with the printing quality itself. The cover of the book I received has a semigloss treatment on it which was badly applied to the paper as it can easily be rubbed off, leaving unsightly fingerprint marks and abrasions where its been touched. On the contents of the book the printer didn't seem to be bothered by mundane things such as press registration; some of the code examples are difficult to read because of the bad printing quality.
I'm unsure if I just received a bad copy, but it's the reason why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. However, content is king, and the content itself is more than worth the price.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A densely packed, informative read, July 29, 2010
This review is from: Introducing HTML5 (Voices That Matter) (Paperback)
HTML5 is creating more and more a name for itself in our industry, but while it excites those on the cutting edge of web technology, many are left feeling uncertain about it. Its ongoing development has been victim of politics, fragmentation and more, leaving few to have a good grasp of its current status. However, a lot of the technologies that make up HTML5 (and more) have become mature, even implemented across all the latest browsers--but did you know that? If you've kept an arms length to everything going on with HTML5, now is the time to dive into its waters and explore.
Fortunately, you don't have to do it all by yourself: just get Introducing HTML5, written by Bruce Lawson (Opera) and Remy Sharp (Left Logic).
Exactly as its name implies, Introducing HTML5 is an introduction to all the new semantics and application-oriented technologies that make up the HTML5 spec. You don't have to be a web development expert to read this, but you'll come out closer to one when you've finished. All you need is a good grasp of web standards-based techniques, e.g. semantic markup; separation of structure, presentation and behavior; and accessibility. Bruce and Remy will teach you everything you need to know to bring your skill set to the next level.
Starting out light, Introducing HTML5 first teaches you the most important new HTML5 elements and their semantic purposes, which is especially helpful if, like me, you kept an eye on these since the early stages of HTML5, but got confused as their meanings were changed or redefined.
The book continues with the new HTML5 Forms, serving as a nice segue into the more JavaScript-reliant HTML5 Audio and Video, before it hunkers down on the real new technologies in HTML5, starting with Canvas and going all the way to the Messages, Web Workers and Web Sockets APIs.
Throughout the book, Bruce and Remy do a great job at not just introducing the new technologies, but informing you exactly of what does and doesn't work in which browsers. Even the latest releases of browsers have some glaring bugs here and there, but where fixes are available, they are presented, and where not, workarounds explained. As a result, Introducing HTML5 is a tremendously practical book, going well beyond a surface-level introduction and straight-up teaching you how to wield these new technologies today.
One thing I am personally very happy about is how the book teaches you how to implement things in an accessible way (via ARIA or otherwise), making sure that visitors to your sites aren't left out. HTML5 is exciting, but our excitement shouldn't come at the cost of accessibility--and following Bruce and Remy's advice, it won't.
The compact but dense information in Introducing HTML5 means that in just an afternoon or two, you'll find yourself brimming with new knowledge, excitement and ideas for making your websites or web applications richer, more exciting and more powerful. All in all, a highly recommended read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Learning technical stuff need not be dry/dull. With this, it isn't, August 31, 2010
This review is from: Introducing HTML5 (Voices That Matter) (Paperback)
It seems that one way of making sure your web site is ultra cool and can do anything you ever wanted it to with no browser problems whatsoever is to use HTML5. Or, at least, that's what a rather worryingly high number of publications and web sites might have you believe. The reality is somewhat different, though. HTML is an evolution, not a revolution, and while it attempts to standardise a number of practices that developers have been using over many years, it won't necessarily fix existing problems. Actually, using some HTML5 will introduce fresh problems if you don't apply it right. What you need, then, is a book that takes a pragmatic approach, doesn't sell it as a cure-all fix, identifies the nasties and even sticks its neck out when it feels that the HTML5 spec has got it wrong. I say 'it' but of course, this is a book written by real people, in this case Bruce Lawson and Remy Sharp. Both have been very much involved with the development of HTML5 and its related technologies, and there are few people who I'd trust more to give you the real picture.
I began reading the book with the full intention of zipping straight through but found myself repeatedly putting it to one side while muttering to myself "I can implement that now, shouldn't take long". This is a good thing - none of your 'cloud cuckoo land' thinking here, just sensible advice and examples that you, as a web developer, can implement now or at least be starting to experiment with.
Technical books are not always the most enjoyable of reads. It may be a cliché that techies can sometimes be a bit weak in the area of easy-to-understand communication (and, some might argue, personal grooming) but this is not an accusation that you could level at Bruce or Remy. Reading this book is educational but also fun. You can just tell that the two of them had a few laughs while writing their respective chapters and also seeing which colloquial phrases (with dubious double meanings) they could sneak past the editors (the answer to this is 'quite a lot'; I won't reveal them, you can find them for yourself!). If you find sitting in a seminar room with amphitheatre style seating, learning from a stuffy professor (possibly bearded, maybe wearing tweed blazer) a bit difficult, perhaps you'd prefer a straight talk down the pub with a couple of guys who really know their stuff and will enthusiastically explain it to you as long as the bar remains open, then this is the book for you.
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