Printed Books remain vital reference
materials,
despite the Digital Revolution.
Either read for new
knowledge or kept for reference,
these works are important resources for the professional.
Preferred
Publishers | HTML & Graphics | Programming
the Web
Preferred
Publishers
There are certain
publishers who we feel have a reputation for excellence. Their
books are informative, effective, and well-constructed, often
being the critical references in their topic.
These publishers include (but are not limited to):
O'Reilly
& Associates
101 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472. www.oreilly.com
New
Riders Publishing
201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290 www.newriders.com
Peachpit
Press
(the "Visual Quickstart" series in particular.)
1249 Eighth Street, Berkeley, CA 9470 www.peachpit.com
We recommend
most of their published works, sight unseen, as responsible reference
guides to their particular topics.
|
Please Note: Not every book, even the best written,
will fully cover all aspects of a subject in the computer field.
It is worth considering a library approach, from several publishers,
to properly complete references to a field of study about computers. |
HTML
and Graphics on the Internet
Creative HTML
Design
Lynda Weinman and William Weinman, New Riders Publishing, 1998,
includes CD-Rom.
This slim volume covers the primary concerns of a web designer-
Color, typography, graphic management, tables, etc. As a reference
work or an introduction to HTML design, the work done by
Brother and Sister Weinman are both a reference to and a presentation
of good creative web practice. The association with William Weinman
is critical to the reach of this book, as it includes substantial
references to CGI. The authors work hard to squeeze the most
content out of each K of web page, and share their best tips
and techniques.
CGI is Common Gateway Interface, or the link between a web page
and the web server. CGI is often written with PERL, and uses
Server Side Includes. This technical aspect can bring power and
substance to design issues. (CGI not generally covered as part
of the design process by other works, and often is not even discussed.)
HTML Pocket
Reference
Jennifer
Niederst, 2000, O'Reilly & Associates. ("The Koala book.")
A slim work (92 pages), we have seen veteran programmers break
down and sob over references found in this book. A brutally honest
look at HTML (up to version 4.0) and capabilities of browsers,
this book seems to list every tag and function that a web page
can reasonably expect to display. Browser versions and compatibility
are clearly illustrated for each tag and function. An essential
reference work, we suggest carrying this book on a daily basis.
You don't realize how important this book is until you need it-
and then you REALLY need it.
Guide to Sizzling
Web Sites
By Molly E. Holzschlag, Laura Lemay.
This
is a glossy "coffee-table" look at web sites, and is
of limited usefulness when duplicating these creations. Laura Lemay is a popular columnist who has written other books about the Internet. Not all her books are well received, especially by people with a technical orientation. However,
the book does inspire with the depiction and descriptions of spectacular
sites.
Ms. Lemay and Ms. Holtzschlag must have high-speed
web connections, as the book says relatively little about page
sizes. This may be because many of the sites shown rely on big,
splashy graphics that can take a long time to load.
Programming
and Technical Aspects of Web Design
The CGI Book
William
Weinman, New Riders Publishing, 1996, includes CD-Rom. Although
dated, this is a good companion to any works on Common Gateway
Interface, or the link between a web page and the web server.
Includes script examples in pseudo code, C, sh (Bourne Shell),
and PERL.
William Weinman is one of the more experienced
authors to write about CGI, and has a "real world"
approach to scripting that encourages the novice CGI programmer
to dig right in.
The complete
HTML/JavaScript library
from O'Reilly & Associates. These are the books with the
light green (teal) bindings. Try to get them ALL. Their Javascript,
DHTML, XML, and HTML references are seminal works.
The complete
PERL library
from O'Reilly & Associates. These are the books with blue
bindings. Try to get them ALL. This includes the core reference
"Camel Book" (Programming PERL), the "Llama book"
(Learning PERL), and the PERL Cookbook. O'Reilly books are the
premier reference guides to PERL programming.
Programming PERL authors are Larry Wall, Tom
Christiansen, and Randal Schwartz; Mr. Wall is respected as the
inventor of PERL, the language. |
|
|
