Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop
Quick Reference (In a Nutshell
(OReilly)) by Jennifer Niederst
Useful And A Pleasure To Read.
In 1998, Jennifer Niederst wrote the first edition of this very successful
book after she found herself spending way too much time chasing down
the solutions to HTML problems. From hexadecimal color specs to
mouseover scripts, the answers are all out there, but finding the exact one
you need can soak up a whole day. I wrote Web Design in a Nutshell
because it was the book I needed--one place to find quick answers to my
questions. With all thats changed in the meantime, an overhaul is
welcome. This is the rare book for designers that is almost completely
nonvisual. It doesnt show whats hip in navigational bars or what the
coolest colors are. Rather, it gives readers the kind of know-how that can
make a difference between someone who just whips up pretty pages with
WYSIWYG applications like Dreamweaver and someone who can make
those pages cross-platform, cross-browser, fast loading, and accessible to

all. The clear organization makes it easy to locate any specific topic.
There are six sections. The Web Environment discusses the realities of
browser compatibility, display-resolution problems, a useful bit of Unix, and
tips for print designers looking to move into Web design. Authoring shows
how to write accurate and up-to-date HTML, cascading style sheets, and
Server Side Includes (like putting the current date and time on your
homepage). Graphics brings together all you need to know to make
effective use of images (GIFs, JPEGS, PNGs, and animated GIFs).
Multimedia and Interactivity helps with adding audio, video, or Flash to
your site (including some succinct tips on optimization and publish
settings). And Advanced Technologies covers JavaScript, DHTML, XML,
XHTML, and WAP and WML. And there are six useful look-up tables in the
appendix, which include HTML 4.0 tags, deprecated tags, attributes, and
CSS support across browsers. Web Design in a Nutshell could easily have
been titled The Web Designers Companion--its mighty handy to have
around. --Angelynn Grant
Personal Review: Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick
Reference (In a Nutshell (OReilly)) by Jennifer Niederst
I've read this book like 6 times now. The writing style is plain and
straightforward, and that is a pleasure to read. I have had never left this
book be far from my computer since I am always reading it through. I has a
lot, and I mean a lot of links for you to read beyond the book on a lot of
topics that should not be fully covered on this particular book.
The design is easy to follow. Brilliantly written and organized. The reading
train wont get you lost, and by that I mean you can easily read from
chapter 1 to the end without skipping or reading this or that chapter before
proceeding.
It has all the basics; all the goods. From servers 101, character encoding,
design pros and cons (not bluntly put that way), and most importantly (up
to this edition, that is) browser cross-compatibility. The main target in this
book is XHTML/CSS, however. The appendixes have a list of all XHTML
elements known to date. CSS was not left aside. Which by it self, its a
huge reason to consider this book.
If you have been using html/css/js before, you already know it's a bit of a
torment and an exhausting task to make a fully all-browsers compatible
site. This will do indeed tell you why your site will look different on a Gecko
or a Trident layout engine. I wasn't even aware that a layout engine was a
very separate part of the browser at all. Info like that makes this book a
must-have, not to mention it will make you a well rounded web developer.
CSS, Flash, DOM Scripting, ECMA-262, web graphics, HTTP headers and
such are subjects you at least should be a bit familiar with. Weather you
decide to go further in any technology in specific, this will give you a
friendly jump start. I was always reluctant to learn/try DOM scripting. Not
anymore.

One big thing if you are planning to get this book as of 2009, is that this 3rd
edition was first published on '06. It's time for an update. Specially with
CSS 3.0 and words on 'web 3.0' around the corner.
If you get this book, be sure to get the HTML & XHTML Pocket Reference
(also by Jennifer Niederst). Both will become invaluable tools you should
keep right next to your work place.
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