XHTML

ISBN: 0-7357-1034-1

Authors:

• Chris Minnick Mr. Minnick is the founder and president of Minnick Web Services, specializing in developing database-driven Web applications. He has been writing and teaching about the Web since 1996 and is a contributing editor for Software Development Magazine.
• Chelsea Valentine Ms. Valentine is a Webmaster, writer and trainer at LANWrights, Inc. She has contributed to other books including Hip Pocket Guide to HTML, XML for Dummies, XHTML for Dummies.

Publisher: 

New Riders

Pages:

440 pages

Intended Audience:

XHTML was written for Web content developers and Website administrators who are responsible for making technology decisions for the creation and delivery of content. The book will also meet the needs of technology managers who must understand underlying technology options and trends.

The goal of the book is to introduce XHTML as a Web content-encoding technology. The authors explain XHTML in a stand-alone fashion, but also relate it to both HTML and XML. Authors explain how to implement Web content as XHTML and how to move from HTML to XHTML.

Summary:

This book is divided into 13 chapters designed to provide a logical progression from concepts and terminology to the mechanics of implementing Web content using XHTML.

I view the first 4 chapters of the book as an overview section. Introducing XHTML, All About Markup, Overview of Element Structures, and Converting HTML to XHTML present a very complete overview of XHTML. In these chapters we learn more about the origins and history of XHTML and its relationship to both XML and HTML. We also learn more about the set of elements that make up the XHTML language. Each element is described and examples of each are given in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 covers the details of converting from HTML to XHTML. This step-by-step conversion helps clarify just how HTML and XHTML are related and how XTHML differs from HTML. Compatibility issues with Web browsers and helpful translation tools are highlighted.

Chapters 5-11 focus on implementing XHTML. First tools to work with XHTML are introduced. Next the authors turn to the ways XHTML can be styled for the browser. Both CSS and XSL are covered in this text. Using XForms, linking, using scripts with XHTML, XHTML graphics and multimedia are also highlighted in the chapters that make up this implementation section of the book.

The final chapters of XHTML focus on benefits and futures. Chapter 12 highlights the idea of using XHTML to provide extensibility to the pre-defined XHTML elements and the role XHTML will play in the future of the Web.

The appendices of this book serve as a good ongoing reference for the reader. Included here are a copy of the W3C XHTML Specification, a compact reference for XHTML elements and attributes, CSS properties, a glossary, and a compendium of resource materials.

XHTML comes with a CD-ROM that includes samples of XHTML documents, XHTML DTDs, and lots of XHTML software. Software on the CD includes XML and HTML editing software, XML parsers, the W3C TIDY utility that supports conversion of HTML into XHTML, and 3 Web browsers including Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and W3C's Amaya.

Recommendation

I found the XHTML to be a great overview of XHTML. It provides the background and motivation for the development of XHTML. It provides a good overview of the ways XTHML is like and different from HTML. It is a good beginning for those who want to understand what XHTML is and why they may want to switch from HTML to XHTML.

I would not, however, call this a text for Web developers. It is much more a text for Web professionals. XHTML does not have the level of technical detail that I would expect for Web developers. The examples are few and are not technically complex.

Dianne Kennedy

Editor, XML Files

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