Web Design In A Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference, 3rd Edition, by Jennifer Niederst Robbins

The first edition of this book came out in January, 1999. Almost 3 years later, in September 2001, the second edition of the book came out. And in February, 2006, this edition came out - almost almost 5 years after the second edition, the 3rd edition came out. The changes in the way the internet is used and seen sneak in over time; standards change, new standards arise, and old standards never burn out - they just fade away as slowly as web browsers manufacturers permit. It all changes. Always. A desktop reference has to change with them to keep current. This is the premise for the 3rd edition of Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference, and it's hard to argue that premise if you can remember Netscape .9b, as Jeffrey Veen notes in the foreword.

Of course, if you're looking for a desktop reference, you may not remember that internet. You might be caught up in the glamor of Web 2.0, and that's well and good - but at the base of Web 2.0 are the changes that have come over the last decade. There's a lot to cover that bumbling through a few Web 2.0 books won't get you through (no matter how well written) because if you're missing some of the foundation - the web fundamentals - you're lost. And sometimes, despite an amazing intellect and a memory that would be envied by silicon manufacturers, you can't remember everything. So some of us keep desktop references.

This particular reference weighs in at 755 pages, which includes the Glossary and Appendices. Within it's covers, the 7 Parts span 36 Chapters and 5 Appendices. In a short description, I would write "the book covers a lot of stuff", but that doesn't tell you much. What I can do is tell you what's in it (you can, of course, skip it and get to what I have to say below):

Part I; The Web Environment:
• Web Standards: What they are currently, as well as standards driven design and further reading (allowing for the changes which will happen).
• Designing For A Variety of Browsers: Ye Olde Browser History, the current browsers out there (which failed to mention SeaMonkey but mentioned FireFox. I use SeaMonkey), gathering and learning from usage statistics, dealing with differences in browsers, knowing your audience, and a brief note on how important testing is.
• Designing for a Variety of Displays: Designing for unknown monitor resolutions, fixed versus liquid web pages, designing above the fold and a very nicely done bit on Mobile Devices (see my comments below the chapter descriptions).
• A Beginner's Guide To The Server: Servers 101, Unix directory name structures, file naming conventions, uploading documents (FTP) and MIME.
• Accessibility: Types of disabilities, an overview on assistive technology, responsibility for accessibility, accessibility guidelines, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, Standards variations and section 508, web accessibility techniques and testing for accessibility.
• Internationalization: Character sets and encoding, character references, language features, style sheet language features and pointers to further reading.
Part II: The Structural Layer: XML and (X)HTML:
• Introduction to XML: XML basics, the XML document syntax, well-formed XML, Document Type Definition, XML Namespaces, XML on the web, web-related XML apps and where to learn more.
• HTML and XHTML Overview: the role of HTML, markup basics, introduction to XHTML,
  which standard is right for you', well-formed XHTML, web authoring tools and Good Authoring Practices.
• Document Structure: Minimal document structure, document type declaration, the root element, the document header and the document body.
• Text Elements: Choosing text elements, the building blocks of content, inline elements, deleted and inserted text, generic elements (div and span, lists (like I'm using here), presentational elements, and character entity references.
• Creating Links: Simple hypertext links, linking within a document, targeting Windows (not Microsoft Windows), alternative protocils and linking documents with link.
• Images and Objects: Inline images, image maps, embedded media, Java applets and inline (floating) frames.
• Tables: Table uses, basic table structures, row groups, columns and column groups, table presentation, accessible tables and responsible layout tables.
• Frames: Introduction to frames, basic frameset structures, frame function and appearance, targeting frames and frame design tips and tricks.
• Forms: The basic form element, form controls, accessibility features, disabled and readonly and affecting for appearance.
Part III:
• Cascading Style Sheets Fundamentals: CSS in a nutshell, the benefits of CSS (for those of you who have been under a rock for the last 5 years), how CSS works, rule syntax, adding styles to a document, key concepts, specifying values, browser support and further reading.
• Selectors: Type (Element) Selectors, contextual selectors, class and ID selectors, attribute selectors, and pseudoselectors.
• Font and Text Properties: Typography on teh web, font families (no broken homes), font size, other font settings, text transformation (capitalization), text decoration, line height, text alignment properties, text spacing and text direction (not where what was written is going, but where the text itself is going).
• Basic Box Properties: A brief revisit of the box model, width and height, margins, borders and padding - so your box does poke other things.
• Colors and Backgrounds: Foreground and background colors as well as background images.
• Floating and Positioning: Normal flow, floating, positioning basics, absolute positioning, fixed positioning, and relative positioning (not to be confused with dinner table arrangements on Christmas).
• CSS for Tables: The essence of tables, styling tables, borders, table layout (width and height), table display values and tablecloth¹.
• Lists and Generated content: CSS for lists, and generated content...
• CSS Techniques: Centering a page, two column and three column layouts, boxes with rounded corners (to keep people from impaling their eyes), image replacement, CSS rollovers (sit. stay. Good CSS.), list based navigation bars amd CSS technique resources.
• Managing Browser Bugs: Working with 'troubled browsers' (gee, which ones would those be?), and hack and workaround management 101.
Part IV:
• Introduction to Javascript: Self explanatory. A nice primer and reference.
• DOM scripting: DOM's sordid past (sounds kinky but it's not that kinky), the Dark Ages of DOM, DOM Now!, manipulating documents with the DOM, working with style, DOM scripting in action and a supplement to help getting started with AJAX, so that you can at least spell it.
Part V:
• Web Graphics Overview: Web graphics file formats, image resolutions, color on the web, and web graphics production tips.
• GIF Format: 8 bit indexed color, LZW compression, interlacing, transparency, minimizing GIF file sizes and designing GIFs with the web palette. Animations covered a few chapters away.
• JPEG Format: 24 bit color, JPEG compression, progressive JPEGs (no such thing as 'industrial JPEGs'), creating JPEGs, and minimizing JPEG file size.
• PNG format: When to use PNG, PNG features, platform and browser support, creating PNG files, PNG optimization and pointers to further reading.
• Animated GIFs: How animated GIFs work (hint: not pixie dust), using, creating and optimizing animated GIFs... and what tools to use.
Part VI:
• Audio on the Web: Basic digital audio concepts and formats, and adding them to your web pages.
• Video on the Web: Basic digital video concepts, compression, video file formats, and adding video to an HTML document.
• The Flash Platform: Using Flash on web pages, creating Flash movies, Actionscript, adding Flash to web pages, integrating Flash with other technologies, the Flash player and Flash resources.
• Printing From The Web: Browser-print mechanisms explained, cascading style sheet hacks for printing, Portable Document Format (PDF) and Flash printing (Adobe Flash).
Part VII: Appendices:
• HTML Elements and Attributes
• CSS 2.1 Properties
• Character Entities
• Specifying Color
• Microformats: Extending (X)HTML

As you can see, this book covers a lot. This is a good thing, as it is a desktop reference - and I found it great that mobile technology, accessibility and internationalization were prominent as these are three things that will become increasingly important over the next 5 years. Further, the author knew when to stop writing and start pointing when it comes to things which are dynamic, which will change, and which are beyond the intended scope of the book.

I wish there was more on 'when not to use Flash', but that's a personal opinion that slides in whenever I see the word 'Flash' as related to the web. I was somewhat surprised that there wasn't a section on PHP and MySQL in the book, as well as information related to content management systems - but then, having read this book from end to end, I can tell you that if those things were in here it would have probably spanned another 20-30 pages in what is already a hefty book. However, for completeness, more than 3 passing references to PHP and more than one reference to MySQL Server would have made me happier than a chapter on Flash. But I'm biased, and the seeming majority of people want stuff on Flash - and they got it. I'll jump up and down a bit, but I'll get over it.

This book was also not meant to be read from end to end - which I did. It's a desktop reference, which makes it difficult to review except over time. However, the book is well written and does have a flow to it if one does decide to read it from end to end. The humor factor is fairly low, which is good - the last thing you want is coffee across your keyboard as you're in a desktop reference.

All of that said, Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference gains an 8 out of 10 on the KnowProSE scale. It's a desktop reference, it's solid and it is chock full of information which I'm glad I don't have to memorize or hunt and peck through the World Wide Web of EverChanging mystery.




A Desktop Reference To Keep Handy

Aug 1, 2006 by Taran Rampersad


Web Design In A Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference, 3rd Edition

Chock full of information and written with the future in mind, Web Design In A Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference, 3rd Edition lives up to it's name for beginners and intermediates, and even experts. If you're involved in serious web development and sometimes have to move out of your sphere, this book is good to have handy.

0.3


This hReview brought to you by the hReview Creator.

¹No, no tablecloth, but thank you for paying attention. Hang in there!