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Designing with Web Standards

July 25, 2009 by Roy Johnson

XHTML + style sheets = creating ‘timeless code’

Jeffrey Zeldman is an evangelist for designing with web standards and browser compatibility. He suggests that we should embrace the latest technologies to design pages that everyone can view. And he shows how it can be done. The standards in this case are methods of what he calls ‘creating timeless code’. What he means by this is using HTML, XHTML, and style sheets to create pages which can be viewed in almost all current browsers. There are two possibilities – both of which combine XHTML and style sheets.

Designing with Web Standards The first is ‘transitional’ and allows light use of tables for positioning page elements. The second is ‘strict’ and requires you to use CSS for all matters of appearance. There’s a lot about browser development and why Netscape and Internet Explorer from versions 1.0 to 6.0 caused the problems for which Web standards are a solution. Then he launches into an enthusiastic account of how XML will be the technology to finally end the browser wars.

After the theory and argument, the second part of the book shows you how to work in XHTML. This will be relatively easy for anyone used to dealing with HTML. The harder part is controlling the layout and appearance of pages using style sheets.

Zeldman adopts a realistic and tolerant line, knowing that most designers will take the transitional route from HTML to XHTML. He designs a sample site using a combination of XHTML, tables, and style sheets, showing how they can be combined and yet still pass the requirements of W3C validation.

His mission all the while is to reduce the amount of code required to render a page, to eliminate ‘bloat’, and make pages available in all browsers. The secret here seems to be that pages can’t be made to look the same, but they can be made to look acceptable.

As a website designer, I would much rather have my users say my web pages ‘look funny’ rather than saying they ‘don’t work’.

He explains style sheets in a simple and clear manner, then shows them in use as he designs an attractive-looking web site one step at a time.

En passant, he reveals an amazingly clever trick for dealing with older browsers which don’t fully support style sheets. It’s to create a second, simpler set of styles, and force old browsers to use them, leaving more recent browsers to pick up the first more sophisticated set.

He also has lots of useful advice about dealing with multiple browser support, though by the time he has explained all the potential difficulties, you begin to wonder how any web page ever gets published at all.

The latter part of the book deals with accessibility issues, and he ends by showing how the interface of his personal site at zeldman.com was re-designed using style sheets. All the code and the style sheets are available as free downloads at his site.

I was surprised that there was no bibliography, and I think the publishers should have treated him to full colour reproduction. This is intermediate to advanced level guidance, but Zeldman does everything he can to make it entertaining and accessible.

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© Roy Johnson 2005


Jeffrey Zeldman, Designing with Web Standards, Indianapolis:IN, New Riders, 2003, pp.435, ISBN: 0735712018


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Filed Under: Web design Tagged With: CSS, Designing with Web Standards, Technology, Web design, XHTML

XHTML 1.0

June 20, 2009 by Roy Johnson

Guidance manual for moving from HTML to XHTML

It’s the sub-title of this book which is most significant. ‘The Next Generation of HTML’ signals its overall purpose – to explain how you can make the transition from HTML to XHTML. Why is this important? Because HTML has been superseded as the language of web design by XML – and XHTML is a version of it which will help you to move from one to the other. Ian Graham starts by explaining the difference between HTML and XHTML as markup languages, then describes basic document structure. This might seem tedious at first, but these issues are becoming increasingly important.

XHTML 1.0Document definitions are crucial once the X element [extensibility] is introduced into HTML. The new markup language opens up lots of new possibilities – particularly if you want to make your Web pages available on a variety of platforms and devices. After all, you can now write a page once, then adapt it for a variety of purposes by using different style sheets.

He covers all the basics of text presentation, hypertext links, graphics, then the spacing and layout that becomes possible by using style sheets. All the techniques he discusses are illustrated by both screen shots and code – so you can easily try out your own versions of effects – from layering to the tricky issues of styles within tables. He also very usefully provides illustrations of the same page viewed in different browsers.

He deals with the more advanced issues of frames, floating elements, tables, and forms, plus the possibilities of scripting and event handlers in dynamic pages.

The last part of the book contains two comprehensive reference lists – XHTML elements and cascading style sheet specifications, plus a section which explains the important differences for those people who wish to make the transition between HTML and XHTML.

There is even a website version of the book available which he promises to keep up to date – and I particularly liked the fact that he lists the (often free) development tools you will need if you plan to go down the XHTML route.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Ian S. Graham, XHTML 1.0 – Language and Design Sourcebook: The Next Generation HTML, London/New York John Wiley, 2000, pp.692, ISBN 0471374857


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Filed Under: HTML-XML-CSS Tagged With: Computers, Technology, Web design, XHTML, XHTML 1.0

XHTML Example by Example

July 15, 2009 by Roy Johnson

convert from HTML to XHTML in easy stages

This book demonstrates how XHTML bridges the gap between yesterday’s HTML-based Web pages and tomorrow’s more sophisticated XML-based applications. The authors (including W3C guru Dave Raggett) start with a brief account of why XHTML has come to replace HTML. They include detailed coverage of the latest style sheets plus forms and scripts to create pages with ‘smart’ capabilities. One useful feature of the book is that there’s a summary list of relevant URLs at the end of each chapter – as well as an immensely heartening selection of free and shareware development tools listed amongst the appendices.

XHTML Example by ExampleThese include Raggett’s own program ‘HTML Tidy’, which will automatically convert HTML to XHTML. All stages of coding are spelt out and explained in almost relentless detail. You will be in no doubt where you’re up to with XHTML after reading this book. It’s suitable for experienced HTML coders and new Web developers alike into the state-of-the-art XHTML world

As the title implies, the information is presented through examples. The code in question is highlighted in blue for quick comprehension. Unlike some tutorials, however, the code examples are accompanied by plenty of explanation for a well-rounded learning experience.

As the book progresses gradually into the more sophisticated elements of XHTML, it explains the differences between HTML and XHTML and defines key terminology.

You’ll get a feel for rich media formats like MPEG-4, SMIL and SVG, plus some pointers to valuable tools for authoring this advanced content.

An appendix includes detailed information on XHTML development tools such as tag editors, validators and converters to get your code from HTML to XHTML.

XHTML has the accessibility of HTML and the power of XML. This title provides an example-based introduction to the XHTML language. It contains practical techniques and tips for the developer to get started.

© Roy Johnson 2002

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Aaron E. Walsh and Dave Raggett, XHTML Example by Example, Upper Saddle River NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002, pp.745, ISBN: 013040005X


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Filed Under: HTML-XML-CSS Tagged With: Computers, Technology, Web design, XHTML, XHTML Example by Example

XML, HTML, XHTML Magic

June 27, 2009 by Roy Johnson

practical web design tutorials using XHTML

Most books on web design cover coding and leave it to the reader to figure out how to use it in real-life projects. This book uses real practical projects as the context for understanding how to implement XML, HTML, and XHTML coding. It kicks off with a brief survey of where HTML and XML are up to at the moment. This includes the need for cascading style sheets. There then follows a series of applied case studies. Each chapter deals with a separate ‘project’ – a series of web sites with different purposes. These range from personal sites and blogs to weekly news sites, community sites with feedback, and even information sites driven from databases.

XML HTML XHTMLThis is what I would call an intermediate level book. It assumes you already know HTML, and is introducing you to the next stage of style sheets and XHTML. It certainly shows you the important coding details. That’s to the book’s credit. The opening example of setting up a daily news site is an excellent tutorial in creating a multi-column table.

The contributors also show how to design pages which combine XHTML and Javascripts, how to control text within table cells, and how to produce printer-friendly versions of pages. They also show how to combine static and dynamic elements within the same table – allowing it to flow and expand to fit the screen. Clever stuff.

This book might have been called ‘Designing with Style Sheets’ – because that’s where most of its emphasis lies. In fact there is very little on XML. But then XML is the easy part: it’s controlling the appearance of what appears on screen that’s difficult.

This book will appeal to people who are comfortable with HTML basics, but who want to go further and explore what XHTML has to offer. The structure of offering eleven tutorials gives you the opportunity to either select one similar to your own web project, or to work your way through from beginning to end.

© Roy Johnson 2002

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Molly E. Holzschlag (ed), XML, HTML, XHTML Magic, Indianapolis (IN): New Riders, 2001, pp.223,ISBN 0735711399


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Filed Under: HTML-XML-CSS, Web design Tagged With: HTML, Technology, Web design, XHTML, XML

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