HTML Computer Book Reviews

Learn the real secrets of creating Web pages, and why everything your boss told you about HTML tables is probably wrong (and what to do instead). Most importantly, hold your own with your co-worker (and impress cocktail party guests) when he casually mentions how his HTML is now strict, and his CSS is in an external style sheet.

With Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML, you'll avoid the embarrassment of thinking web-safe colors still matter, and the foolishness of slipping a font tag into your pages. Best of all, you'll learn HTML and CSS in a way that won't put you to sleep. If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect: a visually-rich format designed for the way your brain works. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory, this book will load HTML, CSS, and XHTML into your brain in a way that sticks.

So what are you waiting for? Leave those other dusty books behind and come join us in Webville. Your tour is about to begin.

"Elegant design is at the core of every chapter here, each concept conveyed with equal doses of pragmatism and wit." --Ken Goldstein, Executive Vice President, Disney Online

"This book is a thoroughly modern introduction to forward-looking practices in web page markup and presentation." --Danny Goodman, author of Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Guide

"What used to be a long trial and error learning process has now been reduced neatly into an engaging paperback." --Mike Davidson, CEO, Newsvine, Inc.

"I love Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML--it teaches you everything you need to learn in a 'fun coated' format!" --Sally Applin, UI Designer and Artist

"I haven't had as much fun reading a book (other than Harry Potter) in years. And your book finally helped me break out of my hapless so-last-century way of creating web pages." --Professor David M. Arnow, Department of Computer and Information Science, Brooklyn College

"If you've ever had a family member who wanted you to design a website for them, buy them Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML. If you've ever asked a family member to design you a web site, buy this book. If you've ever bought an HTML book and ended up using it to level your desk, or for kindling on a cold winter day, buy this book. This is the book you've been waiting for. This is the learning system you've been waiting for." --Warren Kelly, Blogcritics.org

For readers who want to design Web pages that load quickly, are easy to update, accessible to all, work on all browsers and can be quickly adapted to different media, this comprehensive guide represents the best way to go about it. By focusing on the ways the two languages--XHTML and CSS--complement each other, Web design pro Patrick Griffiths provides the fastest, most efficient way of accomplishing specific Web design tasks. With Web standards best practices at its heart, it outlines how to do things the right way from the outset, resulting in highly optimized web pages, in a quicker, easier, less painful way than users could hope for! Split into 10 easy-to-follow chapters such as Text, Images, Layout, Lists, and Forms, and coupled with handy quick-reference XHTML tag and CSS property appendixes, HTML Dog is the perfect guide and companion for anyone wanting to master these languages. Readers can also see the lessons in action with more than 70 online examples constructed especially for the book.

HTML Utopia covers all aspects of using Cascading Style Sheets in Web Development, and is a must-read for Web Developers designing new sites or upgrading existing ones to use CSS layouts.

This book includes one of the most comprehensive CSS2 references on the market. Jeffrey Zeldman, web design guru and co-founder of the Web Standards Project, says "After reading this book, you will not only understand how to use CSS to emulate old-school, table-driven web layouts, you will be creating websites that would be impossible to design using traditional methods".

The second edition of this popular book includes brand new coverage of Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 1.1, new CSS Solutions, and greatly expanded coverage of popular, cross-browser, CSS layout techniques.

"When they say 'definitive' they're not kidding."
--Linda Roeder, About.com

Put everthing you need to know about HTML & XHTML at your fingertips. For nearly a decade, hundreds of thousands of web developers have turned to HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide to master standards-based web development. Truly a definitive guide, the book combines a unique balance of tutorial material with a comprehensive reference that even the most experienced web professionals keep close at hand. From basic syntax and semantics to guidelines aimed at helping you develop your own distinctive style, this classic is all you need to become fluent in the language of web design.

The new sixth edition guides you through every element of HTML and XHTML in detail, explaining how each element works and how it interacts with other elements. You'll also find detailed discussions of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), which is intricately related to web page development. The most all-inclusive, up-to-date book on these languages available, this edition covers HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0, and CSS2, with a preview of the upcoming XHTML2 and CSS3. Other topics include the newer initiatives in XHTML (XForms, XFrames, and modularization) and the essentials of XML for advanced readers. You'll learn how to: Use style sheets to control your document's appearance Work with programmatically generated HTML Create tables, both simple and complex Use frames to coordinate sets of documents Design and build interactive forms and dynamic documents Insert images, sound files, video, Java applets, and JavaScript programs Create documents that look good on a variety of browsers

The authors apply a natural learning approach that uses straightforward language and plenty of examples. Throughout the book, they offer suggestions for style and composition to help you decide how to best use HTML and XHTML to accomplish a variety of tasks. You'll learn what works and what doesn't, and what makes sense to those who view your web pages and what might be confusing. Written for anyone who wants to learn the language of the Web--from casual users to the full-time design professionals--this is the single most important book on HTML and XHTML you can own.

Bill Kennedy is chief technical officer of MobileRobots, Inc. When not hacking new HTML pages or writing about them, "Dr. Bill" (Ph.D. in biophysics from Loyola University of Chicago) is out promoting the company's line of mobile, autonomous robots that can be used for artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic research, and education.

Chuck Musciano began his career as a compiler writer and crafter of tools at Harris Corporations' Advanced Technology Group and is now a manager of Unix Systems in Harris' Corporate Data Center.

However, unlike countless other "learn web design" books, this title concentrates on modern, best-practice techniques from the very beginning, which means you'll get it right the first time. The web sites you'll build will:

Look good on a PC, Mac or Linux computer Render correctly whether your visitors are using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, or Safari Use web standards so your sites will be fast loading and easy to maintain Be accessible to disabled users who use screenreaders to browse the Web

By the end of the book, you'll be equipped with enough knowledge to set out on your first projects as a professional web developer, or you can simply use the knowledge you've gained to create attractive, functional, usable and accessible sites for personal use.
Customer Review: Excellent Beginner's Tutorial
This book serves its purpose ably, showing the virtual beginner how to build web pages. The author keeps the reader interested with a subtle mix of humor and useful tips. The example web site contains many of the elements a beginning web developer needs to produce an aesthetic site built on sound principles. While the author does some hand holding through the process it's by no means a dummied down book. By the time you finish the book you will find yourself able to create a nice 10-page web site.
Customer Review: I've been struggling through several books -- this is the one you want
I hate cutesy books with lots of graphic distractions and interruptions (are you listening, Wired?); and those who are poisonously cynical might consider this book a little cute, but it is amiable, readable, linear, and above all, it actually tells you what to do. After many months of trying to figure out other people's books, this one actually put me on the air, and I am honestly grateful for it. If you can't do a site with this book you can't do sites -- which is okay, whatever your talent is, find your niche and do great things!

With standards-driven design, keeping style separate from content is not just a possibility but a reality. You no longer use HTML and XHTML as design tools, but strictly as ways to define the meaning and structure of web content. And Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are no longer just something interesting to tinker with, but a reliable method for handling all matters of presentation, from fonts and colors to page layout. When you follow the standards, both the site's design and underlying code are much cleaner. But how do you keep all those HTML and XHTML tags and CSS values straight?

Jennifer Niederst-Robbins, the author of our definitive guide on standards-compliant design, Web Design in a Nutshell, offers you the perfect little guide when you need answers immediately: HTML and XHTML Pocket Reference. This revised and updated new edition takes the top 20% of vital reference information from her Nutshell book, augments it judiciously, cross-references everything, and organizes it according to the most common needs of web developers. The result is a handy book that offers the bare essentials on web standards in a small, concise format that you can use carry anywhere for quick reference. This guide will literally fit into your back pocket.

Inside HTML and XHTML Pocket Reference, you'll find instantly accessible alphabetical listings of every element and attribute in the HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 Recommendations. This is an indispensable reference for any serious web designer, author, or programmer who needs a fast on-the-job resource when working with established web standards.

This easy-to-use tutorial that will have you creating your own HTML Help systems (complete with topics, books, links, tables, forms, glossaries, frames, skins, templates, DHTML, cascading style sheets and more) within two days.

Here's What You Will Learn:

Module 1: The Basics

Create an HTML Help Project Using the New Project Wizard | Explore RoboHelp HTML | Explore the Project Manager | Change Project Settings | Edit a Topic | Add a New Topic | Edit a Headline | Rename and Delete Topics | Create a Book | Add, Delete and Rename Books | Move Books | Add Pages to Books | Specify the Project's Default Topic | Generate a Project

Module 2: Cascading Style Sheets

Create a WebHelp Project Using the New Project Wizard | Import an HTML File | Import a Word Document | Rename Topic Titles | Create Books | Add Topics to Books | Apply a Style Sheet to a Topic | Apply Styles to Selected Paragraphs | Edit Styles | Create a Font Set | Create a New Style Sheet File | Use Inline Styles | Create and Use a Character Style | Spell Check | Use Multi-File Find and Replace | Generate 508 and W3C Compliant WebHelp

Module 3: FlashHelp, Links, Importing PDFs and Pop-Ups

Generate FlashHelp | Insert Hyperlinks | Change Hyperlink Colors | Import a PDF Document | Add Popups | Create Custom-Sized Popups | Use Link View | Resolve Broken Links

Module 4: Graphics and Multimedia

Add Graphics to a Help Project | Resize an Inserted Graphic | Add a Background Image | Add a Baggage File | Add Hotspots to a Graphic | Add Sound to a Topic Background | Add Multimedia to a Topic | Import a RoboDemo Movie

plus there's a Mid-Course Quiz and Project

Module 5: Conditional Text, Tables and DHTML

Create and Use a Conditional Build Tag | Define a Build Tag Expression | Insert a Table | Format a Table | Add a Horizontal Line | Use a Graphic as a Horizontal Line | Insert a Symbol | Add Bullets to Paragraphs | Format a Heading with a Fade in DHTML Effect | Use a Style to Apply DHTML Effects | Apply Fly in DHTML Effects | Work with Positioned Text Boxes | Create a Trigger

Module 6: Indexes, Glossaries, Printed Docs and PDFs

Create an Index with the Smart Index Wizard | Remove an Index Entry | Add Index Entries "On the Fly" | Add Keywords with the Topic Properties | Add Subkeywords to the Index | Create a See Also Keyword | Add a Link Control to a Topic | Add Glossary Terms | Change the Status of a Topic | Generate a Report | Generate Printed Documentation | Duplicate the Printed Document Layout | Generate a PDF

Module 7: Forms and Frames

Insert a Form | Insert a Text Field Form Element | Add Radio Button Form Elements | Use the TrueCode Pane to Add Radio Buttons | Add a Check Box Form Element | Insert a Drop-Down Menu Form Element | Add a Multi-line Text Field Form Element | Add Submit and Reset Buttons | Set Form Properties | Work with Folders | Create a Frameset | Modify Frameset Controls | Link Topics into Frameset Regions

Module 8: Skins and Templates

Apply Existing Skins to Topics | Create and Use a Custom Skin | Publish a Project | Create and Apply a Template with Headers and Footers | Edit a Template

Module 9: Version Control, Custom Windows and Application Help

Add a Project to Version Control | Check a Topic into Version Control | Check Topic History | Create a Custom HTML Help Window | Create a Browse Sequence | Review a Web Application's Source Code | Publish a WebHelp Project | Review the Source Code Needed to Create Context Sensitive Links in a Web Application | Create a Custom WebHelp Window | Create a Map File and Assign Map IDs to Topics

plus there's an End-of-Course Project
Customer Review: This is THE RoboHelp guide.
This manual is painless, easy to follow and fun to use. Keven A. Siegel is a talented instructor and a breath of fresh air in an genre of literature that leaves many readers second guessing their comprehension skills. If you need to learn RoboHelp, don't shop any further. This is THE RoboHelp guide!
Customer Review: Very pleased
This was my first experience with a help-authoring tool and found this workbook guided me through the options very well. The conventions used throughout the book were easy to follow; repetition was built into the activities; the example projects supplied with the workbook were flawless (I did not find one error); Mr. Siegel's writing style is easy, I felt like I was in a casual conversation with him. I feel the level of depth covered was just right, it allowed me to dig in without getting overwhelmed and I feel I have a good foundation to build upon. I strongly recommend this workbook to anyone who is trying to learn RoboHelp HTML X5 and I will not hesitate to purchase other workbooks by Mr. Siegel.

It¿s time. International best-selling author, Lynda Weinman, circles back to update this HTML guide and to add her unique creative energy and wisdom to The first edition is best known for its unique quality of combining solid design with coding technique and HTML theory. This second edition will incorporate the significant changes in Web tools and technology since this original edition published in December 1997. Updated content includes coverage of Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, GoLive! and more! In standard Lynda Weinman style, you will find easy reading, straightforward talk - practical "how to's" that reads like you expect her to talk -- with just the right amount of coding and technical coverage to provide you with a solid HTML guide.

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.
Customer Review: Excruciatingly verbose
This will absolutely be the last Wrox book I bought. The annoying, condescending author's photo on the cover aside, this book is extremely verbose, to the point of distracting the reader from really learning anything. For example, it seems on every other page the author feels compelled to tell you that XHTML is just the successor of HTML (he must of thought of the typical reader as totally dumb) and he has a God-given talent of saying so in far more words than necessary each time. Another example: when he gives you some sample code, he would do it step-by-step, and each step would repeat teh same code that was already printed before! What's more, in teh "how it works" recap section, he would then re-print the entire code segment! This book weighs in at over 600 pages, but the contents could easily have fit on half that. Talking about killing trees. The content quality itself is also quite lacking. The book is neither a tutorial nor a reference, but seems stuck trying to be both. For example, when a HTML element is introduced, say , the author gives you a little overview and then just lists the attributes one-by-one. Some examples are given, but these are often on a diffrent page from the definitions so you have to turn the page back and forth. Extremely annoying. The chapter on CSS is very confusing, and the two chapters on Javascript won't teach you anything. I don't know how anyone could have rated this five stars; maybe they are the author's friends and family. In short, I totally regret my purchase. I should have gone with a O'Reilly book. I blame it on Amazon: when I wanted an HTML book Amazon didn't have any O'Reilly HTML books in stock!
Customer Review: Very thorough page turner
For being a technical book, this was a very nice read. Similar to other Wrox books that I have read in that their basic format is a thorough explanation of a subject, then a "try it out" where you are able to implement the subject, and finally a "how it work" where the "try it out" is explained. In addition to teaching html this book goes into other parts of web programming including CSS, JavaScript, and XML. The two chapters on CSS are informative but I would suggest a book dedicated to the vast subject. Each chapter for JavaScript and XML are more of an appetizer to wet your appetite for a more thorough dedicated title. Could have used some color, especially the HTML color appendix. I would also suggest, if it becomes possible and soon I would think it should, getting an updated addition of this book. This information is certainly up to date but there is much "errata" or errors. One must visit the Wrox web site to gather these "updates" to ovoid confusion. Also, there are several errors not covered in the errata that even I was able to discover. This, however, is part of reading technical books. I don't think anyone purchasing this title is looking for a literary gem. If I had it to do over I would still get this book. If I lost it I would replace it. And you do stop getting creped out by the author's picture staring at you after a few days.

Learn from the newest, updated edition of the highly acclaimed introduction to HTML, Sams Teach Yourself HTML and CSS In 24 Hours. The seventh edition includes updates to introduce Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) in concert with HTML to produce quality web pages. You'll be able to study revisions that refine examples, as well as provide an enhanced integration with your web pages. You'll also gain a comprehensive understanding with new examples that match the current state of HTML.

This carefully organized, well-written tutorial teaches beginning web page development skills, covering only those HTML and CSS tags that are likely to be used on creating a beginning web page. The 24 separate, one hour-long tutorials follow the process by which you should be creating your web page, building knowledge not only of how to create a web page, but building a general knowledge of how to use HTML and CSS in other projects as well.

Chapters include:

Mastering HTML and XHTML is the most complete, up-to-date book on the core language of the Web. You'll learn everything you need to know about coding web pages in both HTML and XHTML, the latest, more powerful version of HTML. But it doesn't stop there. You also get practical instruction in complementary web technologies such as JavaScript, CSS, and Dynamic HTML, along with a Masters Reference that makes it easy to find the information you need. Tying it all together is the authors' expert guidance on planning, developing, and maintaining effective, accessible websites. Coverage includes: Choosing between HTML and XHTML Creating web pages Planning and developing public, personal, and intranet sites Including images in web pages Using HTML/XHTML frames effectively Converting HTML to XHTML Creating CSS style sheets Using JavaScript Including multimedia Creating Dynamic HTML or Dynamic XHTML documents Validating XHTML or HTML documents Creating coherent, easily maintainable websites Making your website searchable Accommodating users with disabilities Creating an XML DTD Extending XHTML with Namespaces
Customer Review: Pretty good
This is a pretty good book for learning HTML and XHTML. It's very basic, and perfect for a beginner. Most codes are explained thoroughly, however, sometimes the author just writes a code to do a job and doesnt explain how it works or how exactly to use it. It has ALOT of important information about creating a website and how to test a website, so you can meet all your users needs. I would recommend this book to a beginner who wants to learn more about HTML/XHTML or someone who would like a great reference book.
Customer Review: Awesome Beginner Tutorial, Expert Reference
Exactly the book on Web Design that I was looking for to advance my knowledge! I bought it used on amazon.com and it surpassed my expectations! This book explains everything that it claims and more...HTML and XHTML, as well as related technologies are discussed. This is an awesome starter book for beginners to learn quickly, and is an all around great reference for experts. This book will help you learn HTML, and XHTML and prepare you for where you want to go next. GREAT GREAT GREAT!

Award-winning authors and HTML experts Deborah and Eric Ray share their expertise on everything from using images in your Web pages to determining who your readers are and evaluating their motivations for visiting your site. As an added bonus, HTML 4 For Dummies Quick Reference includes a full color cheat sheet listing 216 consistent and reliable HTML colors.
Customer Review: This is a great reference at a very inexpensive price...
I love this book because it is a well-written concise reference to HTML. It is also spirally bound so it lays flat to boot. This book contains what you need to know without a lot of superfluous text. It is well-organized and collect important information into summary sections. If you are looking for a quick reference, look no further! Like most Dummies books, however, it is written on inexpensive paper. This isn't a huge drawback, however, since computer books are ancient history very quickly and only useful for starting fires after a few years.
Customer Review: Great for beginners!
I love this book! 7 years ago, when I was in high school, I knew nothing about HTML, so I picked up this book. And it really helped me learn fast! Each of the book's lessons is hands-on, which makes it so much easier to pick up. It teaches you HTML by having you type the codes into the Notepad program, and saving the file as an .html instead of a .txt file. Then, when you open it up, it appears in webpage format, and you can quickly edit and play around with the codes in Notepad to see what kind of different results you get. Actually, even to this day, I still use a Notepad program instead of one of those fancy page-creator programs. I like keepin' it DIY, Old School, baby! Some of the things the book covers: - how to use different fonts - how to put in images - how to make an image map (so when you click on different parts of the image, you're sent to different links) - how to create basic tables - how to create numbered and bulleted lists - how to make frames Even though the book won't teach you some of the fancier stuff you see on webpages, like how to use non-bordered tables for layout design, or how to make text change when you roll your mouse cursor over it, it will teach you how to be able to learn those things. Since the book taught me how to view the source code of webpages and how to understand code in the first place, whenever I went to someone's website and saw something cool I liked, I just viewed their source code to see how they were able to do those things. This is all perfectly fine; just DON'T STEAL SOMEONE ELSE'S LAYOUT. Not cool, people. Just see how others do things, and use those techniques to make something of your own design. Once you learn the basics of HTML, it's easy to pick up that fancy stuff. There's plenty of tutorial sites on the web and thick HTML reference books at the library that'll give you the codes for that. And this book definitely gives you the foundation for learning those things.

Sams Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML and CSS in One Hour a Day is a new edition of the best-selling book that started the whole HTML/web publishing phenomenon. The entire book has been revised and refined to reflect current web publishing practices and technologies. It includes extensive coverage of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which have become a staple in web development.

You'll have no problem learning from expert author Laura Lemay's clear and approachable writing style. Simple, step-by-step instructions with lots of practical, interesting examples of web pages will guide you as you master current web publishing technologies and practices.