Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
- ISBN13: 9780596101978
- Condition: USED – Very Good
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Tired of reading HTML books that only make sense after you’re an expert? Then it’s about time you picked up Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML and really learned HTML. You want to learn HTML so you can finally create those web pages you’ve always wanted, so you can communicate more effectively with friends, family, fans, and fanatic customers. You also want to do it right so you can actually maintain and expand your Web pages over time, and so your web pages work in all the browsers and mobile dev
Rating: 
(out of 320 reviews)
List Price: $ 39.99
Price: $ 21.46
September 18th, 2010 on 3:40 am
Review by calvinnme for Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
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The “Head First” series by O’Reilly does it again. This book manages to take the conceptually easy yet complicated task of learning HTML, XHTML, and CSS and breaks it down so that anyone can figure out what is going on and what needs to be done in web page design using these technologies. Plus, if you learned HTML several years ago and you would like to update your skills to current technology, this is a great choice for a textbook.
The book starts out with the basics of HTML -text, webpage form via HTML, putting your webpage on the Internet and linking to other web resources, and adding images and thumbnails. Next the author tackles XHTML, starting by answering the questions What is XHTML? and Why would I want to use XHTML? The author composes three simple steps to take you from strict HTML to XHTML:
1. Change your DOCTYPE to XHTML 1.0 Strict.
2. Add the xmins, lang, and xml:lang attributes to your element.
3. All empty tags should end in “/>” not “>”.
Next, CSS is introduced, along with the properties that can be controlled via CSS. When you read the CSS chapters you’ll find yourself asking “Why don’t other books just SAY this plainly like THIS book does?”. Eventually, the author has you doing advanced layout and control using all the tools available to you without you ever noticing that you’ve been “studying”. The book concludes with lessons on interactivity and tables. I think it is most interesting that the author saves the subject of tables for the end of the book versus other texts that usually introduce them early on. This is because the author is using the more advanced lessons on CSS to help make the subject of tabular data less confusing. The book’s final chapter is entitled “The Top Ten Topics We Didn’t Cover”, thus acknowledging that this is not an advanced book on webpage design. Each chapter has a “There Are No Dumb Questions” section that answers common questions that may be a source of confusion to the reader.
Since this book is designed to be a textbook and not a reference, you might find it handy to have a copy of O’Reilly’s “HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide” as a reference since it lists virtually all of the HTML tags and their properties.
September 18th, 2010 on 3:50 am
Review by Johannes de Jong for Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
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I’ve been involved with the Head First series as a reviewer from the beginning and, as such, my review might be biased, but I will regret not telling you how good this book is.
The Internet is fast becoming a means of sharing one’s life with friends, colleagues and anybody out there who is prepared to listen. Some start by telling their story using a blog; the more adventurous create their own web sites, and it is that category of person that this book is aimed at. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this book, and the whole series, seems too upbeat and too young for you. This book is for all ages, The Head First series is designed to make learning fun, and though it was originally aimed at the younger generation, I personally think that old age pensioners will be able to learn HMTL the correct way just as easily as their grand children if they use this book – and you will be sooo cool if you have this book on your shelf when they, the grand kids, visit again next time.
The emphasis in this book is on creating web pages the correct way, to make pages that will work correctly in any browser. If you work through Elisabeth and Eric’s book, you will end up with a web site that can withstand anything the W3C’s Markup Validation Service can throw at it. And when your web pages pass the validation, you can put the W3C’s cool “passed validation” logo on your site. A sign of recognition that you know what you are doing.
This book does not require you to have prior HTML knowledge; it takes you by the hand and teaches you everything you need from scratch. But don’t be fooled, I was the review manager for this book and even some of the reviewers with years of HTML knowledge under their belt learnt new things from it. Sure, it isn’t a complete HTML reference book, and it does not intend being one, but it lays the foundations for a solid start to becoming a true HTML/CSS expert.
I think this book should become the standard text book in HTML/CSS courses in schools, colleges and even professional training centers.
I highly recommend it to all. It will make the perfect Christmas gift for your family, all ages !!!, friends and even colleagues who are thinking about or are doing something with a web site of their own.
Have fun.
Like I said, I might be biased, but I am sure an independent reviewer will confirm what I said.
September 18th, 2010 on 4:43 am
Review by O. Brown for Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
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******
This book SHOULD receive 6+ stars.
Are you tired of reading reference manuals? Get ready for some fun with “Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML”. This is not your ordinary technical manual. It is funny, interesting, VERY helpful—even for seasoned professionals, great for beginners, and unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, unless you’re familiar with other “Head First” books.
I wish, I wish, I pray, that instructors will read this book and see that learning can be fun, interesting, and enjoyable. If you purchase this book, no matter what your level of HTML familiarity, I guarantee that you will be entertained and informed. Even if you have spent years designing web sites, you won’t mind spending $23 to read a prototype of what technical manuals SHOULD be but never are…until now!!
Buy this book….you won’t be sorry.
I stayed up until midnight last night reading answers to questions I’d always wanted to ask but never knew who to ask them of…and being fascinated. A true beginner will need to study this book. A professional will laugh and be refreshed and have a lot of fun with it. All should purchase it and support a new way of learning!
******
September 18th, 2010 on 5:24 am
Review by J. Riley for Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
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To learn HTML / CSS, you will probably need three books 1) a book to help you learn the topic; 2) a reference; 3) a book that describes the hacks and tricks for getting your own designs to work in various browers. This book does an excellent job of covering the first topic. It does not bill itself as a book for experts, or a reference.
It’s well written in an engaging way that turns a potentially dry topic into a more conversational read. It has useful examples that are well-presented and that continue and build throughout the book. Examples are accomanied by sidebars and out-takes that break up the format in an engaging way that helps understand the material, why things work the way they do, alternative designs and their trade-offs.
My only gripe about the book and the reason I did not give it 5 stars, is that it seems to side-step the browser compatibility issue.
September 18th, 2010 on 6:18 am
Review by Warren Kelly for Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
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Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML is totally unlike any other HTML book I’ve ever read — or owned. Most are basic references — “if you want this, do this” type books. Very dry and dull, not something you’re going to sit and read in one setting. Not helpful to someone who is not technologically inclined who wants to learn how to “do a website.”
This book is written to teach. It’s written so that you remember what you read, using techniques that teachers are being taught to use in the classroom. And it’s one that I would actually use in the classroom if I were still teaching Computer Applications.
The first thing you notice about the book is that it’s colorful. Normally, the only color in an HTML book is the chart of colors and their hex codes (which, ironically, this book doesn’t have). Even the acknowledgements include color pictures of the people they are thanking. And everything in the book is worth reading through — including the acknowledgements and the table of contents. There’s a healthy use of humor throughout that makes it worth actually reading through, rather than just using as a reference.
And that’s the point. The authors are quick to say that if you’re looking for another HTML reference book, to keep looking. This is a book for people who want to learn.
I wasn’t sure how much I’d really learn from this book — after all, I’d just read and reviewed Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual. But while that book gave me a good basis for understanding CSS, this book has expanded my understanding considerably. I’ve got a CSS reference book that has been seldom used; I think I’ll be dusting it off soon, because I know enough to be able to use it now.
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.