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Book Review:
HTML 4 For The World Wide Web, Fourth Edition
by Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
NetMechanic, Inc.
Many subscribers have asked us to recommend good reference books on HTML, JavaScript, site promotion, and other topics. There was so much interest that we've decided to begin a series to help you start collecting what we call the "Webmaster's Essential Booklist." Once a month or so, one of our staff members will review one of the many reference books that they've found useful.
We're starting with one of my favorites: Elizabeth Castro's "HTML 4 For The World Wide Web, Fourth Edition." It's one of the many Visual QuickStart Guides from Peachpit Press. The books blend text, screen shots, sample code, and helpful hints into a readable, easy-to-use format.
Don't be put off by the January, 2000 copyright date. Yes, it does contain some outdated browser information, but overall the book is a great reference for anyone who's just starting to tinker with HTML code by hand. More experienced coders will also appreciate the books excellent organization and Cascading Style Sheet information.
Do you create your Web pages with FrontPage or other WYSIWYG editors? Castro helps you get started working under the hood of your Web site. Learn to include custom HTML code or style sheets without relying on bulky editor-generated code.
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I have several different references that all promise to be the "complete" or "definitive" or "absolute" guides to HTML, but I rarely use them. It's annoying to lug around a 5-pound book just in case I need to refresh my memory on DL lists or CSS attributes.
Sometimes you really do need a complete HTML reference, but most often you just want to check something quickly and get back to work. HTML 4 helps you do that. You don't have to read the whole thing cover to cover, just check the terrific index and jump right to the appropriate section. Topics are explained so well that you can usually implement techniques from later chapters without having to refer to earlier ones for more information.
Truly, the index is one of the sections that make the book shine. When I was learning HTML, I hated indexes that were organized by tag and attribute name only. "If I knew the tag to use," I would grumble, "I could probably code it without the book's help!"
But you can find task-based help using HTML 4's index. For instance, the Links section has such helpful sub-sections as:
- Changing multiple frames
- Changing status label with scripts
- Creating other kinds of links
- Setting tab order
- to email addresses
- to specific sections of the page
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The rest of the book is just as user-friendly. Pages are tiled so you can flip through the book quickly to find such subjects as: "creating nested lists," linking to a specific anchor," and "embedding sound in a page."
Don't miss the chapters on Cascading Style Sheets. They're a great way to understand how they work and slowly get comfortable using them. Castro starts at a beginning "what is a style sheet" level and before you know it you're ready to try absolute positioning of layers!
Almost Perfect For Beginners
Naturally, nobody writes the perfect book, but this one is pretty close for a beginning HTML guide. My main complaint is that it doesn't consistently alert readers to browser compatibility issues that can break page layout.
For instance, the section on the BGSOUND tag clearly states that it's an Explorer-only technique. But earlier in the book, the author spends several pages discussing table formatting using the COLGROUP, THEAD, and TBODY attributes - and never mentions that that Netscape 4.x browsers don't support them. That's a big omission for a book written before the release of Netscape 6.0.
When they're mentioned at all, browser compatibility issues are often buried in the Tips section for each topic. But that isn't a reason to bypass the book: it just emphasizes the fact that you have to test pages yourself and not assume that all techniques work consistently.
The Debugging section is useful, but it focuses on Netscape and Explorer only. The author pretty much ignores the Opera browser entirely. I expect that Version 5 of the book won't leave it out.
Overall though, HTML 4 for the World Wide Web is an excellent resource for beginning and some intermediate webmasters. It gives you a good overview of HTML, CSS, and even a taste of JavaScript. If you're nervous about leaving the safety of your WYSIWYG editor, this is just the book you need to start with.
Have a favorite book that you think might help other subscribers? Send the title, author, and publisher along with a brief explanation of why you like it and we'll check it out!
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