XML/XHTML/HTML Magic (Magic (New Riders))
New Riders Search New Riders by Molly E. Holzschlag Search Molly E. Holzschlag
 |
Rating:  
More Details: XML/XHTML/HTML Magic (Magic (New Riders)) XML/XHTML/HTML Magic (Magic (New Riders)) @Amazon XML/XHTML/HTML Magic (Magic (New Riders)) @aStore |
Amazon.co.uk Review
XML, HTML, XHTML Magic is a set of short projects that demonstrate Web authoring techniques. Aimed at Web professionals, it is nicely laid out with an unusually wide page size, making it easier to display code samples and screen illustrations alongside the text. Although its stated aim is to assist migration from plain HTML to more up-to-date standards such as XML and XHTML, the book is too short and technically lightweight to achieve it. In particular, the appearance of XML in the title is misleading, since it is hardly covered at all. What it does provide are some valuable examples, particularly when it comes to CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) which are used extensively throughout.
After a short introduction to XHTML and CSS, the book gets straight into the first project, which is designing a table-based daily news site. Next comes a weekly publication using SSI (server-side includes), a corporate site with logos designed in Photoshop, and another project explaining how to show artistic images with flair. A couple of projects investigate the design of a community site with online feedback, including one that uses Apache and PHP for dynamic content. Two more projects show how to design the user interface for an online shopping site, and how to publish questions and answers for customer support. Finally there is a look at delivering data as WML for mobile devices.
Although it touches on some server-side technology, this is really a book about design, with many useful tips for building attractive usable sites that work well in different browsers. Those looking for an introduction to XML or XHTML technology would be better off with one of the many more detailed guides available. --Tim Anderson
Customer Reviews:
Starting a Project? Take a look here...
It took me about a week on and off to work my way through XML, HTML, XHTML magic and it was very easy going indeed.
Physically the book is an excellent size and shape, it lies open on the desk without the need for mobile phones and coffee cups to keep it from flapping shut and the layout and colour scheme make for relaxed reading and easy scanning.
The books starts with a chapter on mark-up; HTML, XHTML, XML and CSS. I've read quite a few mark-up books by now and the idea of yet another intro to these disciplines made me grit my teeth a bit, but in actual fact this one is very good - simple, clear and accompanied by a generous amount of code examples.
As with all the chapters this finishes with a section entitled 'More Magic' which lays out tips, guidelines and often further reading for those interested. These sections have some great links to explore.
The book then moves on to discuss the 11 real-world projects which make up the bulk of the content. Each gives: a Project Snapshot outlining the problem; Technical Specs which tell you the mark-up and skills you will be using; Structuring the Site which gives advice on how to lay out the project; and finally the code work itself.
As others have noticed here, it's nice to see Molly and Co pushing W3C standards-compliant work, the more the better. On the other hand it's also nice to see that they too have to break the rules occasionally to achieve a goal. There I was thinking it was just me :o)
The sites the various authors create in the book are visually pretty basic, but they are functional and seem to be excellent starting off points for a project, saving the reader hours and hours trawling around the web trying to find inspiration or coding examples to copy.
The areas I found most useful were the CSS and JavaScript tips - I found quite a few examples of code I'd not seen before but will certainly use in future.
The 'XML for the Wireless Web' project was also something new to me and looked very interesting (if not a bit too complicated to just dabble in).
Also provided is an Index of Techniques, which list (by discipline) the techniques used in the book. This is very useful when referring back to the book with a specific task in mind such as 'Creating Printer-Friendly Pages with CSS'.
One grumble though, which I think others have also noted, is to do with the web site that accompanies the book. There was some initial confusion as to how the files (organised by Chapter) related to the book (organised by Project). In the end I worked out Chapter 1 equates to the Introduction, Chapter 2 to Project 1 and so on. A small thing but confusing at the time when you're keen to push ahead. I raised this issue with Molly and she agreed that the support web site could be altered to make it a bit clearer. This should happen soon :o)
Other weak points were the occasional project which seemed to combine very simplistic work (such as basic work with Frames) and flashes of more advanced JavaScript. 'Showcasing a Corporate Identity' by Christopher Schmitt is one such chapter and I couldn't work out who they were aimed at. Still, this is a book for a wide range of abilities so I guess everyone will find some things too easy and some a challenge.
To sum up, this is a jolly good book covering a wide range of topics. If you wanted to complete only one of the tasks described within then you'd be better off buying a more topic-specific book, but as a book to have in your library to provide a starting point for a range of projects I think it's a worthwhile buy, especially for the less experienced.
related blog:
web designing school
he contributed four chapters to the recently published xml, html, xhtml magic (0735711399) by molly e. holzschlag./ppgo beyond the mechanics of css to how to think in the language of web design, and avoid the common pitfalls. ...
http://findcheapbuys.com/price/Web_designing_school.html
