Usable Forms for the Web

A lot of useful and practical information, but the fonts are too small, and you will probably need a magnifier to read this book.

I've been trying to decide how to implement a data collection and information system based on a web interface for months. Since it's served in a Windows environment, the choices seemed endless...until I found this book. Probably the two most popular methods (before .NET *really* grabs hold) are presented side-by-side in a real-life application.Before delving into the details of the two types, the authors review form contents/elements, give advice on form design, and cover briefly Flash forms for those users. The heart and soul is the comparison between Forms/ASP and PHP/MySQL. And, for completeness, the authors cover form validation (mostly client-side) and the basics of the future (as Microsoft sees it anyway), .NET framework.The Pizza This order system (Forms/ASP) and online survey (PHP/MySQL) examples demonstrate how knowledgeable the authors are about "getting the job done...real time because its real work."I highly recommend this book.

Intermediate web developers will find the collection of forms in this book to be an invaluable library, and the tutorial on the techniques behind the forms well written and sure to increase both skills and knowledge.Chapter 1 starts off with the basics of HTML forms. While nothing in this section is likely to be new to intermediate developers, the next chapter, which covers form design, gives a wealth of information and tips for assuring usability and aesthetics.The chapters that follow is the reason why this book is such a value - each covers a specific environment, including Macromedia Flash, Microsoft's ASP and .NET, and PHP and MySQL. There are also chapters on general form validation techniques and client-side form scripting.I like the fact that the book takes special pains to ensure that all forms are browser-independent and W3C-compliant. One of the book's goals is to show you how to develop forms that will work with IE and Netscape (versions 4 and above for PCs and IE 5 and Netscape 6 and above for Macintosh browsers), as well as Opera version 5 and above for PCs and Macs. While the book does not come with a CD ROM, all code examples can be downloaded from the publisher's web site, along with a bonus chapter titled "Alternative Uses for HTML Forms". If you do web development in any environment, using any of the covered tools you'll find yourself referring to this book often.