HTML: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

 in
What is really outstanding about this book is the careful attention to HTML portability issues.
  • Authors: Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy

  • Publisher: O'Reilly and Associates

  • E-mail: info@oreilly.com

  • URL: http://www.oreilly.com/

  • Price: $32.95 US

  • ISBN: 1-56592-235-2

  • Reviewer: Eric S. Raymond

Given the number of HTML books available, it takes something close to hubris to title a book HTML: The Definitive Guide. When O'Reilly sent me the manuscript of the first edition for review over a year ago, I was skeptical—but that first edition earned its title by presenting the best reference material I have ever seen on HTML. This second edition is a worthy follow-up.

The authors methodically walk you through every HTML feature in HTML 3.2, Netscape's extensions and Internet Explorer's extensions. They even cover such recondite topics as cascading style sheets. A handy reference appendix lists all the world's tags.

What is really outstanding about this book is the careful attention to HTML portability issues. Browser-specific tags and tag attributes are prominently marked. Charts like the summary of content-based tags on page 73, which tell you exactly how the tags will render under Netscape, Internet Explorer and Lynx, are alone worth the price of the book. And while non-portable constructions are carefully documented, the book is full of good advice about making your pages browser-independent.

Not only is this a definitive guide, it may be the only HTML book you'll ever need—at least, until the authors put out the next edition covering HTML 4.0.

Eric S. Raymond is a semi-regular LJ contributor who thinks Perl is pretty neat even though he still carries a torch for Scheme. You can find more of his writings, including his paper for the San Jose Perl conference, at http://www.ccil.org/~esr/. Eric can be reached at esr@thyrsus.com.

______________________

Webcast
How to Build an Optimal Hadoop Cluster to Store and Maintain Unlimited Amounts of Data Using Microservers

Realizing the promise of Apache® Hadoop® requires the effective deployment of compute, memory, storage and networking to achieve optimal results. With its flexibility and multitude of options, it is easy to over or under provision the server infrastructure, resulting in poor performance and high TCO. Join us for an in depth, technical discussion with industry experts from leading Hadoop and server companies who will provide insights into the key considerations for designing and deploying an optimal Hadoop cluster.

Learn More

Sponsored by AMD

White Paper
Private PaaS for the Agile Enterprise

If you already use virtualized infrastructure, you are well on your way to leveraging the power of the cloud. Virtualization offers the promise of limitless resources, but how do you manage that scalability when your DevOps team doesn’t scale? In today’s hypercompetitive markets, fast results can make a difference between leading the pack vs. obsolescence. Organizations need more benefits from cloud computing than just raw resources. They need agility, flexibility, convenience, ROI, and control.

Stackato private Platform-as-a-Service technology from ActiveState extends your private cloud infrastructure by creating a private PaaS to provide on-demand availability, flexibility, control, and ultimately, faster time-to-market for your enterprise.

Learn More

Sponsored by ActiveState