Using XHTML begins with the basics of what XHTML is and how it came to be. Holzschlag guides you from creating Web pages with XHTML to adding scripts and style to XHTML documents. She explains, “The best way to read the book will be determined by you!” Each chapter stands alone. It is organized as a resource for you to pick up and choose what you need.
Holzschlag is the executive editor of WebReview.com, an instructor and a Web designer. I subscribe to her WebReview newsletter and look forward to reading her opening in each issue. She applies the same readable style to her book.
The author makes sure she covers everything. While reading a section about formatting XHTML, I briefly disagreed with a statement. Less than a page later, she explained why the statement is not entirely true. I admit, I judged this book by the cover and thought it would focus solely on XHTML. Not so. There are references to SMIL, multimedia, visual design, stylesheets, and scripting. She also provides details on XHTML modularization and DTDs (Document Type Definition).
She is honest in her commentary about HTML and design issues. If you want to know why you should bother moving from HTML to XHTML, she tells you. Or why HTML is still going strong and why XHTML has not killed it. Yep, it’s there, too.
There are plenty of examples, screenshots, and step-by-step instructions to help you. If you’re like me and forget a few things about writing code, she is there to gently refresh your memory. Although the book qualifies as a genuine doorstopper, finding specific topics is not a chore with the thorough index and the single table of contents page.
This book targets intermediate-level users, but readers who are learning HTML will be able to use it. Holzschlag covers all the basics of file naming conventions, clean coding, and wireless programming, to name a few. In other words, she gives you much more than you ask for when you pick up this book. Special Edition Using XHTML is a welcome addition to a budding Web development library.
Title: Special Edition Using XHTML
Author: Molly Holzschlag
Publisher: Que
ISBN: 0789724316
Date: December 2000
Format: Paperback
Pages: 958