HTML Dog:The Best-Practice Guide to XHTML and CSS

what about the white space?

The book has been written by an author that obviously knows his stuff and there's plenty in here that'll help anyone get started with using XHTML (or HTML for that matter), and in a way that'll ensure that content and presentation are well separated and that the best possible use is being made of CSS features. Even those who feel they've got a grip on the whole thing will find there's something here to make them think again about what they've been coding.

The writing style is chatty and for the most part it manages to seem like someone 'older and wiser' in the office offering help and advice from their vast experience. It's a book you can browse.

The main thing that's missing is information on dealing with the differences between browsers, and you'll probably need another book for that. The CSS Anthology is pretty good in this respect and would complement this book quite well.

So, what about the white space? I really thought I'd seen the last of books with acres of white space around the page and using widely spaced lines. But apparently not. In fact this is one of the worst offenders I've seen in quite a while. It's so bad I actually measured the pages and borders. A page is 170mm by 230mm and the text on it is 115mm by 147mm. That's close to a third of a page that's blank. In addition, there are appendices for CSS and HTML specifications that are equally generously proportioned. The book could have been small and light enough slip into a bag without noticing it if the space had been better used.

5 stars for content, 3 for that wasted paper

book + website= success (2/3 people found this helpful)

I have never written a review before, but know feel compelled to do so.If you are serious about wanting to learn html, don't buy any of the 24hr quick learn rubbish, buy this book and follow the tutorials on th HTML Dog website. True, this book is fairly advanced, but the website starts it's tutotials from beginner,and they are concise and more importantly, written in xhtml strict. Buy this book along with HTML Mastery and Beginning CSS and CSS Missing Manual and you won't need anything else to learn how to write perfect code.

Excellent Guide to XHTML and CSS - Clear, Concise and Comical (11/11 people found this helpful)

Patrick Griffiths - I salute you. I was in need of a guide to XHTML and CSS that would give me a good solid grounding on which to develop my new interest in web design. In the past, I had learnt from trial and error and various internet articles, but this book has changed the way I look at web design. Its chapters are very well laid out - they are clear, concise and instead of screeds of technical jargon, it is packed full of useful and interesting background information about web standards and straight-forward step-by-step instructions in plain English (with a few jokes along the way to hold your attention). Based on "web standards" and "best-practice" I know that the websites I will create with this book by my side will be of a high standard. This book has taken up residence next to my computer and I can see it staying there for a long time to come, as the appendixes are great references for each language.

HTML Dog - worth the biscuits (16/16 people found this helpful)

I ordered this book after reading the multitude of tutorials on Patrick Griffiths' website. I'm happy to say that it was a fantastic investment and has enabled me, in a simple, entertaining and easy way, to learn the intricacies of HTML and CSS.

Griffiths moves from detailed explanations of the difference between HTML and CSS, not only outlining examples, but also the practical reasons for using these web technologies together, then to more complex issues, such as layout. The book is full of web wizardry and expert tips all written in a casual and easy to read style.

I was so pleased with this book that I also bought the CSS Zen Garden book (also published by New Riders), which is another gem.

The Best Practice Guide is a worthy read for anybody wishing to learn standards based web development or simply wanting a decent reference. Highly recommended.

HTML Dog:The Best-Practice Guide to XHTML and CSS

Patrick Griffiths

Reader Reviews:

Good content but... (5/6 people found this helpful)

book + website= success (2/3 people found this helpful)

Excellent Guide to XHTML and CSS - Clear, Concise and Comical (11/11 people found this helpful)

HTML Dog - worth the biscuits (16/16 people found this helpful)

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