Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference

Simply put, this book is amazing. It is a complete reference for HTML, CSS, and much of JavaScript (focusing on DOM). If you are looking for a more complete JavaScript reference, I highly recommend Flanagan's JS book, also in the O'Reilly series. Let's face it... It's hard to remember every CSS property, HTML tag, and DOM attribute. Sure, you could do what I used to do and haul 3-4 books around everywhere, or you could get this one book and save yourself the trouble.What I found most amazing about this book is that it has *every* CSS-2 property that exists. Some of them aren't even supported by Netscape or IE, but they are part of the W3 CSS standard and this book includes them, and even explains their purpose. I find this most amazing. Hopefully Micro$oft and NS will get off their behind and make a fully compliant CSS-2 web-browser :).Let me tell what this book is not. It is not a tutorial, how-to guide, or system of wonders for those just starting out in web-development, DHTML, or CSS. Although it does have a brief tutorial section (about 180 pages), the core of the book (the remaining 1000 or so pages) is the most concise DHTML reference I have ever seen. This book measures a whole inch thicker than the old version and it's fresh with content, supporting the lastest CSS-Level 2 browsers (Netscape 6+ and IE 5+). The author makes it clear in the beginning of the book that many of the techniques and references presented here are not backwards compatible with Version 4 browsers; as he cleverly mentions, since browsers are free to download, there is no reason for anyone to still be using an older browser. If you're looking for V4 support, he recommends his previous edition. It is nice to know this edition wasn't bogged down with dated material that most of us will never need. V4 compatibility is a pain in and of itself.When CSS-3 makes its debut in the next year or two (wishful thinking :)), I'd be happy if Mr. Goodman's next version of this text will be half as good as this one. Hopefully it won't take 4 years to come out, though. I do think this current version was needed about 1-2 years ago. It's nice to have it now. This one gets an A+++ in my book!

While this book may be a bit intimidating for first-time web authors, it is an incredibly useful manual for those who know the basics of HTML and need a reference to newer features and standards.The first section is an extremely well-written overview of modern HTML: the history and philosophies behind CSS, javascript, the Document Object Model, and the designs of the two major browsers, as well as some excellent examples of writing portable code to access these features from different platforms and browsers. The clarity of the writing here is a very pleasant surprise from what is really just a reference manual and simply doesn't need to be this good. This section alone is probably enough to bring most "tag-only" authors up to date on the newer dynamic technologies.It is the reference sections, however, for which most readers will buy this book, and they are excellent. There are comprehensive listings of HTML tags (including rendering behavior as well as scriptable attributes), javascript primitives, and DOM structures. Most importantly, every entry in the reference section is labelled very clearly with which browser and/or standards versions support it, a crucial piece of information to cross-platform authors which is left out of many similar books.All in all, this book may be the only reference a developer really needs on his bookshelf for writing dynamic HTML. The only major complaint I have is that the author is (understandably) very script-centric, and never sufficiently discusses the down side of using heavily scripted pages when static pages or server-side scripts may suffice.

I've purchased several books (Javascript: the Definitive Guide, Netscape ONE Developers Guide, etc) relating to Javascript and Web development. I recently became interested in the functionality that DHTML provides and although I have several books on Javascript, I had nothing which directly references DHTML techniques. This is the book if you want to learn BOTH Javascript AND DHTML - the two are linked inextricably as you'll find if you purchase this book.On the cover, you'll see in smallish lettering "A Comprehensive Resource for HTML, CSS, DOM & JavaScript" - they're not kidding.Section one contains Applying Dynamic HTML information and covers everything from cross-platform techniques to actual scripting of dynamic events on your webpages.Section two contains all the reference sections - HTML, Document Objects, Style Sheet Attributes, and a Javascript Core Language reference. This provides everything from supporting browser versions to reference examples, properties and methods for each element - it is exhaustive.Section three provides cross references so you can find objects or HTML attributes and what elements support them. Ever want to know exactly which objects support the ONCLICK event handler? - here's where you'd go...Even the 4 appendixes are useful and include a table of color names and RGB values, HTML character entities (special characters), a listing of keyboard events and their character values (useful for initiating code when specific keys are pressed), and finally a reference area for Internet Explorer commands not specifically covered by the document object model.This is a must buy book for any HTML developer out there - even if you're not at the DHTML level yet.

As a "reference" book (that is, not a tutorial or manual or *dummies* book) is meant to be used by people already familiar with what they are doing and need a comprehensive source to look something up, this book is the perfect model of a great reference work and belongs on every web deleloper's desk. It offers detailed info on HTML elements, DOM, CSS, and JavaScript. As this is a DHTML reference, the Javascript section is sorely lacking, though. A great feature is that for each element, property and attribute, it tells you which versions of Netscape and IE supports that element. Descriptions and examples are also provided for each entry. It also briefly explains how to use DHTML and cross-platform problems. Another consideration is that since this is such a large reference, it takes a little time to get used to its organization and how to look things up. But this is the one web book I keep referring back to all the time.