HTML, XHTML and CSS For Dummies

by Ed Tittel, Jeff Noble

Now featuring more than 250 color illustrations throughout, this perennially popular guide is a must for novices who want to work with HTML or XHTML, which continue to be the foundation for any Web site The new edition features nearly 50 percent new and updated content, including expanded coverage of CSS and scripting, new coverage of syndication and podcasting, and new sample HTML projects, including a personal Web page, an eBay auction page, a company Web site, and an online product catalog The companion Web site features an eight-page expanded Cheat Sheet with ready-reference information on commands, syntax, colors, CSS elements, and more Covers planning a Web site, formatting Web pages, using CSS, getting creative with colors and fonts, managing layouts, and integrating scripts

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Technology, Programming, Computers

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Ed Tittel is a freelance writer and trainer who also works as an Internet consultant. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Texas and worked for American software corporation, Novell from 1987–1994, where his final position was Director of Technical Marketing (1993–1994). Prior to that position, he worked for such companies as Information Research Associates (now known as Scientific and Engineering Software), Burroughs Computing, Michael Leesley Consulting, and Schlumberger Research. In 1997, Tittel worked briefly as a Technical Evangelist for Tivoli Systems, and in 2006, he worked for NetQoS, first as Director of Training, then as a Senior Researcher.
Tittel has contributed to over 100 IT, Internet, IT Security, and Certification books. He is well known for his contributions to the best-selling HTML for Dummies and HTML4 for Dummies, and has also authored For Dummies books on XHTML and XML. He's probably best known for his Exam Cram series Certification books, which he originated for the Coriolis Group in 1997, and for which he served as series editor until the end of 2005. His most recent works include short titles on optical networking, clustered computing, and carrier Ethernet, plus recent revisions to his CISSP Study Guide, HTML For Dummies (currently entitled HTML, XHTML, and CSS For Dummies, 6th edition, with co-author Jeff Noble), Windows Server 2008 For Dummies, and Guide to TCP/IP, 3rd edition (lead author: Laura Chappell). Tittel currently writes regularly for numerous TechTarget.com Web sites, for Tom's Hardware and Tom's Guide, for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and InformIT.com. He also writes white papers and research documents for major US and international corporations, and develops and delivers online course materials on various Windows OS and networking topics.
In 1993 Tittel started his own Company, LANWrights Inc., primarily to pursue content development and book publishing projects. In 1997, his company produced 45 computer trade books, and from 1998 to 2004 (the year he left the company, following its sale to Sylvan Ventures in 2000) they produced no less than 55 computer trade books per year. In 2005, LANWrights ceased to exist as a business entity when the Austin division of what was by then known as Thomson NETg (now part of Skillsoft) was finally shut down completely.

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

new take ... 2 1/2 stars

Well, I've changed my mind about this book. It's just too hard to find stuff in it, for me anyway. Maybe it's got a layout, index, TOC etc that is specifically designed to appeal to the sensibilities of much younger people than I. Maybe it's like Wired - it took me months of occasionally trying to read that before I finally was able to see a lot of things - the page numbers, the date on the cover, what the TOC was trying to tell me, what was important stuff on pages and what was just nifty-cool-rad-hitechy design shit.

Anyway, I was trying to find the element (tag pair) - you know, the thingies you use to get bold text, italics, and so on) - that would allow me to make footnotes like s.penkevich can do (he actually told me in a comment stream, but I forget what comment stream).

Could not for the life of me find it, eventually got frustrated and Googled what I wanted and found it in about two seconds.

The book may be okay for younger people, and especially if you already know something about the subject. But not for a real dummy, especially for an old one.



old take ... 4 stars
Seems like a prety good reference book. If only one could use all these nifty things in a GoodReads review, it would be pretty cool.

[Libero · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was actually a helpful introduction to HTML for a computer-competent newbie. I would recommend it.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for beginning-intermediate web site builders. The best thing I took from this are the sample templates and the useful links. Other than that, there was nothing new that I didn't know already.

[Ruthie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reference book.

[Trey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry and outdated, but a nice intro to HTML.

[Rashad Knox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to have this book back in highschool but never finished. Feels good to actually feels good to finally read this book.

Great information, somewhat outdated but still relevant. Would recommend finding a newer edition of this book.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can’t recommend this book; there are several that do are better for introductory HTML and CSS. It’s quite broad, covering many Web technologies, but it’s not very deep. It focuses on HTML and CSS, but also touches on scripting and CMSs. It’s easy to read and full of colorful code snippets and examples, and it’s up-to-date (published 2011). My favorite chapters were those on mobile web design, HTML5, and CSS3. I also liked the many recommendations for useful sites, tools, and resources.

A better intro to HTML and CSS is Head First HTML with CSS amp XHTML (see my review). My Goodreads account has more of my reviews of web design books.

Notes

HTML5
Use HTML5 Shiv for browsers that don’t support HTML5.

CSS
Use ems to set font size.
Read Smashing CSS by Eric Meyer.
Use the Spoon Browser Sandbox to test multiple browsers.
CSS3 tutorials: CSS3.info and CSS3.com.

Mobile web design
Link to Google Maps for Mobile.
Include links between the mobile and desktop sites.
Make the site simple.
Make key information easy to find.
Make all links big and easy to click.
Use text and contrasting background colors to make text easy to read.
Put contact info 1 click away.
Read Mobile Web Design for Dummies.
Use the W3C mobileOK Checker to make sure your site is mobile-friendly.
Use iPhonetester.com to preview your site as it would appear on an iPhone, and iPadPeek.com to preview it on an iPad.

HTML editors
WYSIWYG editors
Dreamweaver (paid)
KompoZer (free)
Microsoft Expression Web (paid)

Helper HTML editors
Aptana Studio (free)
Komodo Edit (free)
HTML-Kit (free or paid versions)
Notepad++ (free)

[Arjun · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book in the cover says "HTML,XHTML & CSS for dummies". A stereotype for books is that they are old and useless. The reason that the cover says "HTML,XHTML & CSS for dummies" without specifying the type is because this book was released right before when HTML 5 and CSS 3 were to be released. This book really only covers HTML 4 and CSS 2. It doesn't even go in depth that just covering the main basics of the huge language. It covers multiple ways for user input, blocks, links in HTML. Psudo classes, text align, padding,margin, float and index in CSS.

I think that the old stereotype about all books being old and useless really fits in here. Technology is constantly evolving and this book won't just automatically update driver software like my laptop does. Near the end of the book they spend 2 chapters on just what CSS3 and HTML5 will probably do (from the 2010 perspective). A book, just 2 years old already useless to me. For people don't know how to sue technology it's like reading a whole manual about how to use Windows 98 while your desktop uses windows 7. Only a few very vital concepts are used in both, otherwise are completly different. This is the lowest rating I've given to a book

[Becky Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is written from the stand point that you already have a basic understanding of how to use a computer and surf the internet. Very early on I learned that I really didn’t know that much about web development, such as what the acronyms URL, HTML and CSS stand for. In Part I: Getting to Know (X)HMTL and CSS, I became a bit too excited and ambitious. It was like learning a new language and the possibilities with web design became endless.

HTML, XHTML & CSS for Dummies covers topics such as creating forms within websites, how to create links to other online resources, finding and using images, and developing your own Cascading Style Sheets for easy maintenance of web page style and structure. My enthusiasm was short-lived, and I became lost at around Chapter 6: Linking to Online Resources. Though I finished the book, I came to the decision that web design really isn’t my thing.

Read the rest of my review here: http://beckyajohnson.net/2012/12/12/h...

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me even more thankful for Wordpress. I was looking to get a basic understanding of HTML and CSS, and the authors delivered that and more. Now I have some clue when I look at the "text" tab on my Wordpress website. I made note of the book's website address and some of the sources so I learn more later.

[Dama Chan · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful and useful. Would recommend.

[Nipz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yesterday, I browsed the shelves in the library and discover that our campus does provide some books on programming languages like C++ and so on, perhaps intended for the seniors or mechanical engineering students. How can there not be, right. Anyway, I also found books on markup language like this one, and I am more interested to have a look into this since that it always reminds me of the pain I went through examining the HTML and CSS in the blog in order to tweak *that* certain tiny part.

So, not a book I'd recommend to someone who would like to try out building web page for fun. Probably not even going to recommend the latest edition to anyone. If one is not serious (like those of target audience of "for dummies series"), might as well sign up for any free coding/programming course in the internet. Interactive and faster, because... just don't waste your time on this. However, this book still makes a great glimpse into, just to have that broader sense of the inheritance in the codes.