The Ultimate HTML Reference | 
| Author: Ian Lloyd
Publisher: SitePoint
Category: Book
List Price: $44.95
Buy New: $25.46
You Save: $19.49 (43%)
New (30) Used (6) from $25.46
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 64480
Format: Illustrated
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 552
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0980285887
Dewey Decimal Number: 005
EAN: 9780980285888
ASIN: 0980285887
Publication Date: May 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book. Shipped from our NYC store. Slight Shelf wear to cover. Pages are clean and unmarked.
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Product Description
Sitting at the foundation of every site is HTML. It's the only language that's essential to a web site's very existence. On the surface HTML may seem simple but there's much more to it that meets the eye. With different versions, many infrequently used elements and attributes, and varying ways that browsers interpret the language, only a comprehensive and up-to-date reference, like this book, has it completely covered. The Ultimate HTML Reference is your definitive resource for mastering HTML. The entire language is clearly and concisely covered, along with browser compatibility details, working examples, and easy-to-read descriptions. Authored by one of the world's most renowned HTML experts, this is a comprehensive reference that you'll come back to time and time again. This cross-referenced, easy-to-use book covers:
Every element and attribute in the HTML and XHTML Specifications, including an example of its correct use Coverage of deprecated and proprietary elements Detailed browser compatibility information will save you hours of painful debugging and frustration
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| Customer Reviews:
Great HTML Reference August 13, 2008
'The Ultimate HTML Reference' is exactly what it says it is. Detailing every HTML tag which is part of the WWW standard, this simple to the point text explains what tags are available and what they do. Detailing out browser compatibility, if its deprecated or not and a little text (a lot for some tags) get the user informed and on their way. Topics are broken up into 10 chapters: 1. HTML Concepts 2. Structural Elements 3. Head Elements 4. List Elements 5. Text Formatting Elements 6. Form Elements 7. Image and Media Elements 8. Table Elements 9. Frame and Window Elements 10. Common Attributes. For any web developer that still finds themselves turning to books wondering what something does, this is a great guide to have by your side.
My only two qualms about this book are #1 the design. sitepoint books have a great layout which is easy to read but the coloring in this book was a little drab. The blues are great but some orange (blue and orange are the official line colors) would have been nice to separate out concepts and points. Using grey and/or lightest blue looks alright but it doesn't have the WOW! factor that other sitepoint books do. #2 is I don't know if this needed to be a hardcover. It's a nice touch but no doubt one that raised the production costs of this book.
Overall a great addition for any and all web developers out there.
***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Exactly as the title suggests August 1, 2008
The Ultimate HTML Reference
In previous years I was never very enchanted with Sitepoint titles however over the past year or so Sitepoint seem to have upped their game and have published a number of fairly good titles. This book being one of them.
The ultimate HTML reference by Ian Lloyd is exactly what it says, a reference guide. Although I've read the book cover to cover it is meant more as a reference book than a straight read. The book covers every single HTML/XHTML tag and corresponding attribute known (including some that aren't even in the official ratified HTML standard but are supported by certain browsers, mainly during the browser wars from a few years ago) from HTML version 1 right through to HTML 4.01 and also includes XHTML through version 1.1. Unfortunately you won't find any HTML 5 or XHTML 2.0 tags or extensions in the book but that is mainly because these haven't been ratified by the W3C yet.
The book is very well laid out with each each attribute to a tag immediately following the tag and a quick reference stating exactly what tag the attribute is associated with (which is handy for a reference guide). Next to this is a quick reference stating whether or not the tag or attribute has been deprecated, whether it's required, the version of HTML or XHTML that it was introduced and a quick browser support reference stating whether it's fully supported by the browser, partially supported, not supported at all or whether the implementation is buggy for a particular browser. This is followed by a description of what the tag or attribute does, any values that it takes followed by a more complete browser compatibility list. The list covers the major browsers that are currently out from IE5.5 through IE7, Firefox 1.0 through 2.0, Safari 1.3 through 3.0 and Opera 9.2. This is followed by a brief description of any compatibility issues as listed finally followed by a list of other relevant tags or attributes. As with any book of this nature, basically it is out of date virtually as it's printed. With Firefox 3.0 and Opera 9.5 just being released and Internet Explorer 8.0 just around the corner, however there are mentions of these scattered throughout the book e.g. the "X-UA-Compatible" attribute of the http-equiv that was introduced with IE8. Unfortunately since the book went to print Microsoft have changed their mind and this tag is no longer necessary to put IE8 into full compatibility mode as it will ship in that mode as default.
There are also numerous references to web articles like RFC's that the reader can use for further information should they be inclined. Also there are tips as to what CSS styling you should use instead if an attribute be deprecated.
This leads me to one of my biggest complaints about this good. Reading through it you just get the feeling that as well as the HTML/XHTML reference, there should also be a CSS reference. It just seems so natural a fit to this type of book, however as the title suggests this book only covers HTML/XHTML. As such Ian Lloyd has done an insanely outstanding job of providing all the information you could ever want about any HTML element or attribute. This is definitely a book that will be sitting on my desk and one that I will dip into every now and again and one that you should have too. I just hope that there is a companion book in the works detailing CSS in the same manner.
Simplicity Emphasized -- With WOW Factor July 15, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I strongly agree with the first reviewer that the aesthetics of this book are outstanding. The typography and layout are superb. Astute attention to these simple elements remarkably enhances the usefulness and readability of this book. An important aspect of my own job is transferring the same approach to the visual interfaces of Web applications, so I appreciate the sweat that went into this simplicity.
Since I made my enthusiasm clear, I guess I can belabor my quibbles. I am not sure I would call this an "ultimate" reference because much has been left out. This is not particularly bad since the emphasis of the book is simplicity and usability. Most Web workers will surely want to use this book's approach, with all its fine organization and examples, rather than the W3C specs.
What might you want more of? Well, there is no index for attributes. Each tag, like BUTTON, has plenty of attributes. Knowing what attributes are appropriate and most effective is important. For instance, this book covers the most critical attributes for BUTTON -- but not all of them. It mentions that IE has an incorrect default value for the TYPE attribute. This is very good to know, but even more important to know is that client-side script does not work for Firefox if the TYPE attribute does not have an explicit value of BUTTON.
The world of HTML is fairly simple but can be treacherous. That is exactly why someone moving into this world will find this book a ready aid.
The ultimate HTML reference July 9, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This book has become my go-to reference for anything HTML. Why do I like this book so much? Let me count the ways:
(1) Every HTML tag past and present is covered in this book.
(2) Each tag description is covered by telling you the proper open and closing tag, and available parameters;
(3) An example HTML segment is given on how it's used;
(4) Whether this is still valid HTML or an old, deprecated tag;
(5) A brief text description on what the tag is used for, and when you should use it;
(6) Browser support for the tag, with four browsers covered: IE, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. What version of the browser supports the tag, and its compatibility with past browsers. No other HTML reference that I know has this.
(7) An index of each tag for quick look up.
(8) A table of contents in logical segments: HTML Concepts, Structural Elements, Head Elements, List Elements, Text Formatting Elements, Form Elements, Image & Media Elements, Table Elements, Frame & Window Elements, Common Attributes with three appendixes: Deprecated Elements, Proprietary & Nonstandard Elements, and an Alphabetic Element Index.
Now, to the aesthetics. The book is gorgeous. Type is well spaced, large, and laid out beautifully. Each tag is laid out in the same format with shaded areas for quick reference. And the piece-de-resistance, this is a hard-backed book, so when you pull it out of the bookshelf it feels solid and nice in your hand, not like a floppy fish you get with the soft covered tombs.
What this book is not. A text on learning HTML. This is not a step-by-step guide. It is a beautiful dictionary for fast look up of HTML tags when your not sure of allowed options, format, whether it is a supported tag, or what browsers are supported.
Five Stars for exactly what it is, "The Ultimate HTML Reference."
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