A Visual QuickPro Guide: DHTML and CSS Advanced
Jason Cranford Teague’s Visual QuickPro Guide, DHTML and CSS Advanced, is an excellent overview of the modern web design world. Following in the footsteps of the other excellent QuickStart and QuickPro books from Peachpit Press, this topical resource features project based examples in practical terms: a web designer’s cookbook of DHTML and CSS design techniques.
The topics the book covers can be grouped into the following: JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets for Layout, Forms, and Server Side and Database topics.
True to its promise, DHTML and CSS offers some advanced CSS techniques, but it is mostly an introduction to dynamic web design, XML , JavaScript, CSS, and Server Side Programming languages.
Though it is a valuable resource for its technical details, I enjoyed the introductory chapters that give an overview of web design planning techniques. In light of the need for planning and site wide design control, the case is well made for the effectiveness of CSS as a web design tool.
The CSS portion offers example layouts, discusses creating contextual templates, and includes various styles of navigation tabs. Some detail is spent on creating special effects with CSS and proprietary DHTML, drop shadows, transitions, ambient sounds, floating objects, and transparency effects.
This useful desk reference closes with lengthy appendices covering CSS, DHTML, Browser-Safe Fonts, and WAI Accessibility. The CSS and DHTML appendices are complete with a comprehensive list of browsers that support each property and browser. The WAI Accessibility appendix details each accessibility priority and checkpoints to evaluate the effectiveness of an accessible design.
Reading any reference work is not a compelling literary experience. However, this book will prove highly valuable on any beginning to intermediate web designer’s desk and will likely become well worn by use. In fact, any web designer, no matter his expertise will find the appendices very useful and may find himself turning to the specific examples offered in this small volume, much like a chef revisits a well-known recipe for forgotten details.
Title: Visual QuickPro Guide - DHTML and CSS Advanced
Author: Jason Cranford Teague
Publisher: Peachpit Press
ISBN: 0321266919
Date: 2005
Format: Paperback
Pages: 424
Cover Price: USD: $29.99 CDN: $42.99 UK: �21.99
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April 18th, 2005
