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Creating Effective Web Pages: O'Reilly Releases "HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition"

September 6, 2002

Sebastopol, CA--"Learning Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) is like learning any new language, computer or human," write Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy, authors of the new edition of HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly, US $39.95). Most students first immerse themselves in examples. The authors' advice to anyone wanting to learn HTML and XHTML is to get out there on the Web and see for yourself what looks good, what's effective, and what works. But imitation can only take you so far, they caution--it is just as easy to learn bad habits through imitation, as it is to acquire good ones. To be safe, the way to become fluent in HTML and XHTML is through a comprehensive and current language reference that covers the language syntax, semantics, and variations in detail to help you distinguish between good and bad usage.

Now in its fifth edition, "HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide" leads web developers through everything they need to know to become fluent in these languages. The most all-inclusive, up-to-date book on these languages available, it covers Netscape Navigator 6, Internet Explorer 6, HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0, JavaScript 1.5, CSS2, Layers, and all of the features supported by the popular web browsers.

The authors of "HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide" include every element of HTML/XHTML in detail, explaining how each element works and how it interacts with other elements. Tips about HTML/XHTML style help web developers write documents ranging from simple online documentation to complex presentations. With hundreds of examples, the book provides models for writing effective web pages and for mastering advanced features like style sheets and frames.

"HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition" shows how to:

  • Use style sheets to control a document's appearance
  • Work with programmatically generated HTML
  • Create tables, from simple to complex
  • Use frames to coordinate sets of documents
  • Design and build interactive forms and dynamic documents
  • Insert images, sound files, video, applets, and JavaScript
  • Create documents that look good on a variety of browsers
  • Make the transition to XHTML

The new edition of this book was written for anyone interested in learning and using the language of the Web, from the most casual user to the full-time design professional.

What the critics said about the previous edition:

"Best of 2001: Customers' Picks"
amazon.com

"2001 Web Development Editors' Picks"
amazon.com

"Best of 2001 Award: Computing and Internet"
fatbrain.com

"It is hard to find good books on popular subjects like this mainly because there are too many bad books. As always O'Reilly didn't disappoint me by bringing to us 'HTML & XHTML' by Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy. It is a readable, fast moving, and compact book. Those of us with the need for a good reference book certainly appreciate this one."
--Miguel A. Sepulveda, Linux Focus.org, January 2001

"'HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide' offers a more comprehensive and pragmatic look at the de facto markup language of today, as well as the emerging next step."
--CompBookReview.com

"Anyone with a serious interest in using HTML or XHTML should have this text at hand as a principal reference."
--Major Keary, AUSOM News, March 2001

"Plenty of books can teach you HTML quickly, getting you up to speed and hacking out web pages in no time. 'HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide' offers a more comprehensive and pragmatic look at the de facto markup language of today, as well as the emerging next step While 'HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide' is an excellent tutorial for learning markup the right way, it is also a superb desktop reference guide to keep nearby for daily use. Perhaps, there is no greater compliment for a web development book."
--Stephen W. Plain, amazon.com

"If you are planning to buy just one book on HTML and XHTML, this is the book for you."
--Nelson Bigelow, Jr., Kennebec Valley Computer Society Newsletter, January 2001

"We've learned more about HTML from this source than any other. It is incredibly well written and easy to understand. So many resources tell you how to create HTML tags, but few tell you why these tags are applied in the way they are. It's one web-oriented book we can't be without."
--Photo Electronic Imaging, December 1998

"An excellent reference book."
--Jennifer Kyrnin, HTML Guide, Mining Co.

Additional resources:

HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition
Chuck Musciano & Bill Kennedy
ISBN 0-596-00382-X, 645 pages, $39.95 (US), $61.95 (CAN)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000

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