Markup Languages Books

I agree with most reviews for DHTML Utopia; the book is middle level, leaving beginners in the dust but pros wanting more. It is, however, well written and contains very good code and coding standards. If you are not completely new to JavaScript and DOM scripting, but would like to learn more and make sure your code is up to today's standards, then this book is for you. If you are very familiar with web scripting and/or have been writing your own unobtrusive client side code then go with a more detailed book.

This book has a lot of great stuff but you have to have the patience to sit down and read it line by line. Can't scan through the book and hope to learn something. Even need to type in the script and try it yourself. Some of the most important ideas the author just covered in two sentences. It does teach a lot of useful stuff but it is absolutely not a beginner's book. Save me from my job interview.

This is without doubt the worst book on DHTML/Javascript that I've ever read. The author tries to be cute, funny and authorative but ends up just plain painful. The examples are over-long and artificial, and would be difficult to incorporate into a real world application. The author peppers the book with snazzy shots like "It's the modern way!" but rarely explains the benefits of the methodology he's pushing, and glosses over any shortcomings.
For instance, in discussing regular expressions he provides a simple expression for a telephone number, then points out that it's seriously flawed. But it's "suitable for our discussion" so onward we press, and a correct solution is never provided. Bad luck if you were after such a beast. (Footnotes abound - often just URLs to now broken links - so you have to wonder why he couldn't have provided the solution at the bottom of the page.) The part on Ajax is a joke - he just plugs in an out-of-date version of the Sarissa library and never scratches below the surface.
Beware.

As a developer with no prior JavaScript experience, I've been very disappointed with this book. In the Introduction section, the author says "Some experience with JavaScript might also be useful, but it is by no means critical" (Page VIII) which isn't true.

Throughout the book, the author will keep assuming (implicitly) that you already have a good programming background (he uses a more complex logic in his code),and will leave many things unexplained or explained too late. This alone will easily guarantee frustration. NO BOOK EVER frustrated me that much.

Another issue is that the book uses some very complicated examples with complex logic. Unlike other decent coding books, instead of starting with simple functional examples and developing them\it as you read a chapter, the author uses one big example and "tries" to explain it part by part throughout the chapter. This might force you to "memorize" the script(s) since they contain too much code to understand (which is not the point). To make sure if the examples of the book suit you or not, download the free sample chapters from Sitepoint.com and check the "table highlight" example at the end of chapter 3. That's how most of the examples will be presented. (with more code of course)

Now don't get me wrong, the topics covered in this book are great, but it seems that the only people who will really appreciate it are those who already have a good background in JavaScript (logic,functions,methods...etc) NOT beginners like myself. So if you're trying to learn JavaScript\DOM, then go find a better book (such as "DOM scripting").

(this was originally published on www.last-child.com)

This is a difficult book to read for non-javascript programmers. If you are more comfortable with HTML and CSS, I'd recommend reading Jeremy Keith's DOM Scripting first. Keith explains the theories behind this book.

That said, I did learn enough from DHTML Utopia to not look like a complete idiot during my job interview with Yahoo. This book is filled with project examples for you to follow along with. I will say that I tried several of the examples and had mixed results. I visited the book's web site to get updated code.

If you've already worked with Javascript, this is a great book to have on the shelf. If you are a rookie, start with Jeremy Keith and follow up with DHTML Utopia.

I own several Javascript books, all of which seem to be littered with mistakes, and code that doesn't work across all browsers, except for this one. Developing web pages is the hardest of all development technologies, you have to know a lot about different technologies, and make them work across all browsers. Thankfully Netscape, which was a major problem in the past, has come a long way and caught up to the rest. However, making Javascript work for each browser is hard enough, and this book really comes to the rescue. It tells you what works for which browser. The authors have done their research, and has helped me tremendously with the work I do for my clients. I will continue to support the Javascript Bible series, and I hope the authors continue to produce a great reference.

This "Bible" covers everything that is needed for JavaScript programming. Everything is very well written and very easy to understand with clear code examples and real world applications. The beginning tutorial is a great way to get beginners started then the more advanced topics are covered in the Book or on the CD with all of the examples listed on the CD as well.

This is a book that I will continue to use.

Definitively it's the javascript bible.

If you want to fine tune your AJAX apps you'd better buy this book.

It's extensive object and fuction reference does not leave anything in the shadows.

This book is worth every cent.

Pro: really good reference work for most people
Cons: 1) Not for someone who doesn't know either javascript basics or another scripting language. 2) Organization is good, but it isn't an encyclopedia and it isn't a start-to-finish tutorial. 3) Poor typeface decisions.

This book is the greatest for several different types of people. First, anyone who knows the basics of javascript, from advanced beginner to advanced js user. Second, anyone who wants to learn javascript and already knows some programming; you can use it as a tutorial, but only if you don't need much explanation about scripts and object-oriented programming.

It really is just excellent for someone who has previously learned something about one of the chapters but needs a refresher and/or more detailed/comprehensive walkthrough.

Four stars instead of five for a completely unnecessary mistake. Unfortunately, the W3c ignores people who do not have eagle-sharp vision and will fill a page full of semicolons and colons, or parens and curly brackets. If you don't have a font that clearly distinguishes these, it is a major source of semantic errors and eyestrain. The font chosen to print the code in this book could not be worse. Colons and semicolons are almost impossible to distinguish (not to mention periods and commas),and curly brackets look like thin lines with no curls.

C'mon guys. There are fonts of every type where periods and commas are easier to distinguish, and curly brackets have a distinct shape. USE THEM FOR PUBLISHING CODE!!

An overwhelming amount of information without a simple beginning. The author jumps from beginning level information to way too sophisticated so fast that it will lose any non-technical person.

...if you are interested in a concise overview of the W3C open-standard XML technology, as opposed to a getting yet another Microsoft sales pitch (a la Wrox).

Every book on every Internet technology gets outdated fast. The book is outdated. That being said, I found the book clear, fast, and easy to understand.

The author went to extensive pains to point out how quickly things were shifting in XML. His examples were well thought out, logical, and contained few (if any) obvious errata. Furthermore, he took the trouble to point out the cases where the commercial toolage failed to correctly implement the W3C standard. Readers who can deal with these caveats will find it a good way to come up to speed in a vendor-neutral manner.

I was aware that the book was obsolete when I bought it. But I reviewed the alternatives carefully before I bought and decided that it was the best of the lot. I am happy with my purchase now that it's about 2/3 read. (The O'Reilly version isn't due out until December, or I would have been tempted to buy that instead. I may still.)

I hope that Mr. Harold will update the examples as needed, that he will continue to stick exclusively to the W3C standard, that he will demonstrate using all the available tools (including the emerging open-source tools), and will point out cases where the commercial and open-source tools fail to comply with the W3C standard.

You mean like how DOS was supposed to be replaced by better operating systems by 1982? Really -- we're going to be stuck with plain 'ol HTML for decades.

So you've learned HTML and DHTML and CSS and who needs another bunch of angle brackets?

Oh, well. XML is perfectly symetric (no more unbalanced "BR"s). Isn't that nice?

But there's no getting around it. You've gotta learn XML because everybody really is moving toward its adoption. This book will do a good job of getting you started. It took me all the way from a standing start to creating my own Windows Channel (CDF) which is quite a lot.

The book "XML Applications" will take you to the next step and these things become dated quickly. But if you start here, you will be happy about it.

No software support, the contents are not comply with the technology. I couldn't get anything out of it. I found myself reading sample chapters from here and there.

This book has been updated by Elliotte Harold and for some unfortunate reason is now called The XML Bible. (unfortunate for me, I just got this book to discover that it's completely revised. I'm out $32.)

Got an used copy of this for my XML study.

This book was arranged with great concentration of various key concepts in the XML realm. Very concise and quite useful for experienced program developers.

However, the downside of this book is that some of its examples are not consistent with the Interface Definition, for instance, SAX 2.0, example in this book used .addAttribute Method, which could not be found in SAX 2.0 class definition at all, therefore confusion was there. The same problems were there in the DTD chapter, e.g. vague Entity explaination..

For you can get an free copy of this book on the web now, I gave it 3 stars.

Not only explains very clearly all the complex stuff of xml schema when u're a beginner, but also well organized so that it's easy to come back to it when u have a precise questionning.
For me it's THE reference book about xsd, like stroustrup for c++ and kerningam for c.

Who can remember all the little details surrounding XML? This book is a great summery of the most important XML technologies. It isn't a tutorial, it isn't for beginners, it's for "What's the name of that XPath function that removes excess spaces?" (normalize-space). Highly recommended for finding answers fast.

This is a reference book. It's not intended to read, but rather provide quick reference to just about any XML related topic. Unfortunately, the examples are very short and don't provide a great deal of insite. My next task is to look for a reference book that does provide useful examples -- I hope one exists.

Keeping in mind that this is a "quick" reference, this book is organised well and very easy to use. When learning XML I had it by my side many times and almost always found what I was looking for. My only comment for improvement would be a more comprehensive index and maybe some a more suitable cover design (I am constantly pointing people to the text on the cover in order to convice them this is a book about XML).

This is an excellent first text. I hadn't used HTML before, although I understood the principle of ing. I wanted to learn HTML and, fortunately, I was attracted by this title and browsed it in the bookstore.
I saw that HTML per se was over and that this was the way to go. It was easy for me, having never "done" Web before: I had no bad habits to unlearn.

OTOH, I am not completely 'new' to computers and such. I have been studying computers/language/VBA/hardware as a hobby for several years. So I cannot say whether this text would help a _complete_ newbie, but it took me from no HTML to a certain comfort and a website (where I try to do some of the kinds of things the book taught me).

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with some knowledge of computing and programming and who wants to start writing for the Web.

I am in my second college term learning web development. This recent purchase has become my best friend, my 'go-to' reference. Most any question is answered within, as most available tags are referenced to some extent. I have found very few discrepancies in this comprehensive guide to XHTML.

I think any responsible web developer should take it upon themselves to write entirely in XHTML. The transition from HTML is very easy with this text in hand, and the authors reference their working suggestions to W3C standards frequently.

My only desire in a HTML/XHTML text not satisfied relates to seldom addressed yet extensive discrepancies between various viewing platforms. However, few other texts do much better in this respect. If you have more experience with HTML development than me, you won't be bothered by this deficiency.

This book is absolutely wonderful when it comes to introducing XHTML to a web-developer or design student who is already familiar with HTML. It does contain several bugs and on ocassion its examples contradict what's been written in the text of the book. I wouldn't recommend it to the people who're just learning standard HTML.

To those beginners who've trashed a book on a fairly advanced web-design topic, get a book on basic HTML and actually learn it before you decide to learn something which assumes fairly fluent knowledge of HTML syntax, document structure, standards, and CSS.

A tutorial on webmonkey.com may be all you need to create simple HTML documents, but it doesn't cut it as far as being able to go on to more advanced topics and actually know when something may or may not be right in a book. Books aren't there to be the holy grail of they're there to give you a concsise, convenient introduction to whatever topic said book happens to cover.

For the rest of you, that know HTML, some CSS, and maybe a little java script and are wanting to move on to XHTML, buy this book. You may also want a companion text on XML. I recommend Elliotte Rusty Harold's XML: Extensible Markup Language. O'Rielly has some very good texts on CSS and JavaScript, which you'll probably want to check into after reading this book.

I am well versed in writing HTML and limited JavaScript, however I have learned all I know through disecting the pages of others. I wanted a book that would give me a more-or-less formal education on correct standards, etc.. for writing XHTML and at the same time introduce me to attributes I wasn't familiar with. This is the book I wanted. It is perfect for anyone wanting to learn XHTML but has no experience with it. It is also perfect for someone wanting to brush up to current standards, or someone looking for a basic reference manual (although I use a Black Book for that). The XHTML examples are throughly explained and easy to follow. The book also includes a full explanation of what XHTML is and why it was developed. The last few chapters deal with a brief, and very fast-paced intro to JavaScript. I think beginners would have a hard time following this part, but it a good jumping point for someone planning to learn JS in the future. If I included the JavaScript chapters in my review I would probably give the book 4 stars. But, as it is an XHTML book, and the JS composes a strong majority of the text, I haven't included it in the rating. If you don't understant the JavaScript, or have no intention of learning it, then don't read that part. The book is well worth the price regardless. As far as the previous one star reviews, I can only attribute this to narrow-mindedness and impatience on the on the part of the reviewers. Take your time, do all the examples, don't skip any paragraphs, and this is the perfect book for beginners.

It is not for utter beginners. You need to know something about HTML and the Web before reading this book. That being said, it does a wonderful job of explaining XHTML, introducing XML and explaining where XHTML came from, and describing CSS. It also throws in a basic introduction to JavaScript and has a chapter on Mozquito, a program for producing XHTML Forms right now. The appendices are not reiterations of the book and are invaluable. For myself, the best appendix is the one on the XHTML DTDs. They clearly explain which element is supported by which DTD -- something which is not easy to find on the Web.

My critiques of this otherwise fine book are as follows:

1. It tries to cover too many topics.
For instance, the basic introduction to JavaScript was unnecessary, especially in light of the fact that Wrox publishes an excellent tutorial on the subject entitled Beginning JavaScript. The chapter on Mozquito is completely irrelevant to a person trying to learn XHTML. It's like trying to stick a chapter on Dreamweaver into an HTML book: it just doesn't belong.

2. It lacks an appendix on the XHTML character entities.
It's not a tragedy, but it is annoying since the character entities are just as much a part of XHTML as its elements and attributes are.

Despite these criticisms, I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone interested in making their Web sites "forward compatible." Fortunately, the book can work both as a reference and a tutorial on XHTML.

As many C++ programmer, I have heard of XML and its supposed wonders, yet, I always thought it was just another web-specific kind of technology. I knew the basics, but was not really aware of how it could be integrated with C++.

This book was exactly what I was looking for. It just covers every possible way of integrating XML into C++ applications. This book is a wonderful survey of all possible solutions.

The fact that this book covers every possible technology is of course very appreciated, but its coverage of every technology is very brief and may only serve as an introduction.

Worse, the very comparison between every technology and the "when to use what?" section is of a mitigated quality. The author just doesn't explain well his point. The book looks more like a compilation of chapters than a unique book with a clear vision.

After reading this book, I fell like I know more how to integrate XML into C++ and dispose of some information on which technology use, but definitively need to buy another book to cover the chosen technology.

Overall, this book is a very good introduction to the integration of XML into C++ apps, but a better "guidance / technology comparison" would be appreciated.

Well I know Java and XML well, I needed a good reference book on "best practices" on using XML with C++, this book is really the only game in town and is quite useful as it covers all the bases.

It will get out of date pretty quick as most tech books of this kind do but as a reference it does nicely.

Well I know Java and XML well, I needed a good reference book on "best practices" on using XML with C++, this book is really the only game in town and is quite useful as it covers all the bases.

It will get out of date pretty quick as most tech books of this kind do but as a reference it does nicely.

Well I know Java and XML well, I needed a good reference book on "best practices" on using XML with C++, this book is really the only game in town and is quite useful as it covers all the bases.

It will get out of date pretty quick as most tech books of this kind do but as a reference it does nicely.

Although XML is a buzzword du jour, its acceptance in the C++ world
is surprisingly slow, especially in non-Microsoft environments. This
is mostly due to the lack of an accepted and standardized API. The
standardization process is painfully slow and even though there are
a number of publicly available parsers with C++ bindings, they vary in
their approach to XML processing as well as in the minute details that
make them work with some C++ compilers but not with the others.

In such an environment, a book devoted specifically to processing XML
using C++ is mostly welcome. Read below and decide for yourself.

The good:

- the book covers all major XML processing technologies
available for C++ programmers. It provides examples and explains the
difference in various approaches.

- It will not bore you with XML basic description, excessive quoting
of XML standards, or useless hype (99.9% of XML books out there are
plagued with all of the above).

The bad:

- Even though all of the technologies are compared, the comparison is
crammed in the back of the book, after the chapters describing all
of these technologies in great detail. This sounds like a poor
choice, because these technologies are very different from each
other and different tasks require different approaches. A good
overview and comparison of all of those in the beginning would be
much welcome. It would give readers an idea of what technology to
choose.

- Most of the large examples are Windows-oriented.

- Source code for the examples is only available on an attached CD.
It is not available on-line, which is a shame - I though we've
already passed the stage of "proprietary examples." Apart from other
obvious advantages, having examples on-line would facilitate
contribution of patches and improvements from the readers.

- Speaking of the examples on the CD, they are presented in the worst
manner I've ever seen. The examples I've played so far are bundled
with XML parser distribution (each of them!), have plenty of
temporary files around (like editor backups, or files that Visual
C++ produces). Even those examples that are supposed to work in both
UNIX and Windows come with no Makefiles, the source code looks and
feels rather immature (I though, one learns to NOT supply an
identifier to #endif directive during the 1st year of C/C++
education). All in all, each example I've seen so far feels like a
quick hack, hastily cooked up and released without a mere attempt to
make it look presentable. This is really bad, since, given the
scarcity of books on the subject, there will be plenty of people
fighting with the source code from the book.

The bottom-line: this books falls way short of my "golden standard"
(UNIX books by W. Richard Stevens). Nevertheless, it seems to be the
only book on the subject and it does cover all major technologies. If
you need to work with XML in C++ - buy this book. Once a revised
edition is out (or a better book appears), switch to it.

This 3rd edition is very different from the previous edition, which I skimmed in a bookstore. In this 3rd edition the author NO LONGER uses pre-packaged software (FrameIt and WebForms) to create frames and web forms, instead, you are taught using pure HTML, which is the way it should. I am somewhat new to HTML and wanted a book to teach me HTML in the shortest time possible. I completed this book in a weekend just like the title says, and found it to have a very personal yet concise style of writing that put me at ease with the subject. The author alerts you to many pitfalls and has excellent tips along the way. If a sentence brought up a question in my mind, sure enough, it was answered in the next sentence or two. This edition now comes with a short but excellent intro on Cascading Style Sheets and points you to sources on the web for more complete info...

I expected creating a web page to interesting and exciting. This book is dreadfully technical and downright boring.

A good book for someone that is starting out new trying to learn HTML. Good examples throughout the book along with CD Rom that comes with the book.

After being given a project of designing & creating and complete web base document website for the company I work for I decided to start learning more about web development. I was pointed to the Weekend Course books by a friend and I must say that this particular book is excellent.

It is very well laid out and easy to read. I learned enough from this book to create a visual prototype of the final website interface in less than two weeks.

I definately recommend this book to any beginners or anyone that needs a good reference book.

This is the first book I've ever purchased on HTML - and it's still my most used. Though I learned it over many weekends, it was still just as effective. The lessons are the right length, and everything is explained very simply - but without oversimplifying or boring you. The files and (demo)programs on the disc are awesome. I still use some of the backgrounds from the disc today! And to dissagree with what another rewiewer wrote, you CAN learn how to make great, and partly complex webpages with this book. And yes, it is a beginners' book. But that's why it's called LEARN HTML in a Weekend; but like I said, I still use it as a reference book today. The extra lessons on working with graphics and other media are also great. If you are interested in learning HTML, or you've tried another book, and it didn't work for you, buy this book!

I am one of those who wish to pick up a book and be able to work with the technology in matter of hours, and this book is not the right one for it.

This is the best book I have ever read on XML related technologies. If you own just ONE book that wonderfully teaches this in's and out's of XSL as it relates to XML infrastructures, this is the book you absolutely MUST buy!

This books presents XSL in nice bite-sized chapters that are clear, to-the-point, and illustrated with good examples.

I am an experienced and (I think) pretty good procedural programmer, and I find XSL to be a challenge. I've looked at tutorials on the web and at other XSL books. I recommend this book because it reads well, covers the territory, and leaves you with a clear understanding of what XSL can do for you.

A reasonable work on XSL, but certainly not the best. This book is neither fully a reference or an introduction. On the positive side the book provides a terse and intelligent introduction to the topic. On the negative side the explanation of a complex topic like XPath not covered in as much depth as it probably should be, and there are some extraneous sections on HTML and CSS which are better covered in other works. On the whole a good book, but not a great book. If you are interested in XSL you should try Michael Kay's XSLT Programmers Reference and Sal Mangano's XSLT Cookbook.

I am working on my IBM XML exam and had to study "Professional XML" and other books.

I found out there are two types of computer books
1) one type can tell you the same things in few pages(200-300 pages) and (of course in cheap price) without wasting your time and money.
2)second type will tell you the same things in 800-900 pages with price upto 60$ and size that will make you afraid even to pick up the book.(mostly "Professional series")

this book is from the first category. the author has done an excellent job to simply the understanding of how XSL,XSLT and XSL:FO works. what are different ways to do the same thing, whats the adv/dis to do them.

I got a chance to borrow it from my public library.
you may not find solid examples(only fragments) but believe me you wont miss the concept what the author is trying to teach at that point(he will use picture, fragment or whatever).

so here is the summary, if you want to save your time and money, pick this book.

I am professional web developer and have been using this book for already a year. It is exellent as an introductory book and then as an everyday reference. For some resons its coverage of JavaScript is not displayed in the book name, but this is the best book I have found about JavaScript and its integrations with browsers.

This is a thick book. But never misunderstand the fact that no matter how many pages are included in a computer reference, there will always be information missing for the most advanced user. HTML 4 is covered in-depth -- and should be the primary reason for wanting to purchase this title, for I have not found a better reference on the subject anywhere. Java 1.2 and XML receive good general overviews. A review previous to mine suggests other, more comprehensive titles, if one wants to delve into the world of Java and XML fully. An excellent suggestion and something that should be taken into account before buying.

Regarding "Platinum Edition Using HTML 4, XML, and Java 1.2," it should be noted that for first-time site developers that are looking for an introduction to HTML 4, this is probably not the best way to go. The basics of Web development, such as the best placement for links, graphics, and text, are summarized in the first fifty pages. (First-timers should look for Web development books that cover both HTML 4 and graphic design well.) Following, is a reference-style book that comes in very handy when looking for specific information (that this book covers). I would say, and I think that I share the sentiment of other readers, that this book is geared toward the intermediate to advanced site developer.

Several more aspects worth noting: The style of writing is clear and straightforward, with few grammatical mistakes; there are plenty of examples (code and screen) with good descriptions of why something works; and I would've preferred that the screen shots be in color, but that would probably double the price.

This is a good reference book for HTML 4, that includes an overview of XML and Java. It's not everything, but it's excellent nonetheless.

The book covers a little bit of everything, which makes it overall a nothing. Although it attempts to be encyclopedic, yet it fails to even make mention important and basic things such as http cookies! From cover to cover, the book is filled with contrived examples and useless discussions on generalities. This is NOT a good technical book. -- NOT RECOMMENDED.

Thank goodness the copy I have is hardcover. I've had to hot-glue the binding already (Ok, it's been after a year of use).

Use it every time I want to launch into learning a new web development technology. It's not exhaustively in-depth on any subject. But it more than gets your feet wet on all of them. Presents a well-rounded view of what it takes to get the job done.

Often use it as a reference -- when other, more focused books fail. Chock full of useful tips. Have found it to be consistently accurate.

Buy this book, read it cover to cover as quickly as you can, then expand on it with more focussed books. I consider it a bargain.

This book is just what i was looking for. When i was hired to a web company i didnt' even know what HTML stood for. This book takes you deep enough into things you need to make basic html pages, all the way to venturing into basic javascript, and java. Its isn't something you want to buy if you want to learn java, or java script. This book, however, will help you tremendously when it comes to two things: (1) Just learning html, from what it stands for - to creating tuly user friendly webpages, that look and feel good to users. (2) it serves as my offices Number ONE reference for HTML. It has been our reference manual for months now. It has yet to really let us down. IF you want to learn html with no background in computers (even if you didnt' even have a commodore) GET THIS BOOK IF you want a good reliable reference manual for HTML; GET THIS BOOK

This is the best book for learning HTML that I have found. Leave it to Microsoft to let it go out of print and replace it with crappy titles that mainly shill for Microsoft products.

I can't believe this book was ever published. The writing is vague. If the authors/editors understood their subject matter they should be able to explain it. Very disappointing. Writing too vague for a beginner; too brief for an intermediate.

The simple fact is: Internet Explorer 4.0 and later now owns more than 80% of the browser market. Because of this, the books focus on the browser is not necessarily a bad thing. Plus, it's a Microsoft book - anyone who buys it thinking it will cater completely to Netscape Navigator is fooling themself.

Eitherway, this book is amazing for people wanting to begin their quest on learning DHTML. Though I have been professionally designing web pages for years, I have been forced to focus on ASP driven pages or static HTML pages. JavaScript has consistently alluded my understanding. VBScript was easy. JavaScript has never made much sense and I have lost interest in learning it, book after book.

However, this book teaches you unbelievably well. I was literally JOYED to see the way that this book was explaining things to me, ONE event, one action, one attribute at a time. It was so refreshing to have things slowly doled out to you rather than be tossed in over your head, gasping for air.

If you don't know much about JavaScript/DHTML and are interested in learning - this is your book. Pick it up immediately. Yes, it's older, but the foundation it gives you is wonderful.

Hey dont even bother with this book. It is a complete waste of a tree unless you are a complete beginner and love Bill Gates. (cuz they will try and brainwash u). Basically, this book says here is a cool dhtml property that works in exploder but not the other ones please look at the microsoft web page or look at the cd that comes with this to see it.

What a pile of trash.

We want to be able to have a book that can use both netscape and explorer. Not say what netsape4 cant do. Anyways netscape 6 is already out in alpha and this book is completely out of date. Plus this book was written before ie5 so it doesnt even address the newest ie correctly. it was written when it was in beta and he really doesnt have a good understanding of the power. He only knows netscape 4 doesnt have it.

The reader is left to do all his homework going to netscapes main page to see what can work.

If u want to learn dhtml buy danny goodman and jeff rouyers books!

The best audience for this book is probably a beginner or intermediate web developer. It does a great job of TEACHING. It isn't a reference-it's only 500 pages and a reference that just covers scripting (which won't teach you anything) will fill well over that. It gives very good coverage of HTML and good scripting and css sections (it has two screenshots showing how all the text related css attributes are rendered in Internet Explorer and Netscape).

The latter part of the book is devoted to a lot of Internet Explorer specific technologies that could be of use a lot of use to people developing intranet sites.

This book details many features that work in Internet Explorer and not in the latest Netscape product. HOWEVER, that is to be expected since Netscape has not released a new browser in several years. The advantage of this book is that it doesn't present the user with a just one feature set-it lets the reader know what things work and what don't in each browser, although there is a focus on the Microsoft product. In some cases it even details how the Mozilla betas differ from the released Netscape browser and it mentions Opera a couple of times.