Web design in a nutshell : a desktop quick reference

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 that's changed in the meantime, an overhaul is welcome. This is the rare book for designers that is almost completely nonvisual. It doesn't show what's 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 Designer's Companion - it's mighty handy to have around. Copyright 4 Table of Contents 5 Preface 13 Contents 14 Conventions Used in This Book 16 Request for Comments 17 Acknowledgments 17 Part I: The Web Environment 19 Chapter 1 - Designing for a Variety of Browsers 21 Browsers 21 Design Strategies 27 Writing Good HTML 29 Knowing Your Audience 30 Considering Your Site's Purpose 31 Test! Test! Test! 31 Chapter 2 - Designing for a Variety of Displays 32 Dealing with Unknown Monitor Resolutions 32 Fixed versus Flexible Web Page Design 37 Accessibility 41 Alternative Displays 44 Chapter 3 - Web Design Principles for Print Designers 46 Color on the Web 46 Graphics on the Web 52 Typography on the Web 59 Chapter 4 - A Beginner's Guide to the Server 65 Servers 101 65 Introduction to Unix 68 File Naming Conventions 75 Uploading Documents (FTP) 75 File (MIME) Types 79 Part II: HTML 83 Chapter 5 - HTML Overview 85 HTML Editing Tools 86 WYSIWYG Authoring Tools 86 Document Structure 88 HTML Tags 89 Information Browsers Ignore 91 Tips on Good HTML Style 92 Specifying Color in HTML 93 Character Entities 102 HTML Resources in This Book 107 Chapter 6 - Structural HTML Tags 109 Summary of Structural Tags 109 Setting Up an HTML Document 112 Global Settings with the Tag 114 Using Tags 116 Chapter 7 - Formatting Text 120 Summary of Text Tags 120 Working with HTML Text 130 Inline Type Styles 132 The Tag 134 Lists 136 Layout Techniques with HTML 140 Chapter 8 - Creating Links 148 Summary of Tags Related to Linking 148 Simple Hypertext Links 151 Linking Within a Document 152 Affecting the Appearance of Links 153 Targeting Windows 155 Imagemaps 155 Non-Web Links and Protocols 161 Chapter 9 - Adding Images and Other Page Elements 164 Summary of Object Placement Tags 164 Horizontal Rules 172 Image Basics 175 The Tag and Its Attributes 176 Adding Java Applets to the Page 182 Adding Plug-in Media with 183 Adding Media Files with 184 Chapter 10 - Tables 186 Summary of Table Tags 186 Introduction to Tables 194 Basic Table Structure 195 Affecting Table Appearance 199 Table Troubleshooting 205 Tips and Tricks 211 Standard Table Templates 214 Multipart Images in Tables 219 Chapter 11 - Frames 224 Summary of Frame Tags 224 Introduction to Frames 227 Basic Frameset Structure 229 Frame Function and Appearance 232 Targeting Frames 235 Inline (Floating) Frames 237 Frame Design Tips and Tricks 238 Chapter 12 - Forms 244 Summary of Form Tags 244 Introduction to Forms 251 The Basic Form ( ) 252 Form Elements 254 New Form Attributes (HTML 4.0) 259 Affecting the Appearance of Forms 260 Unconventional Use of Form Elements 264 Demystifying CGI 265 Chapter 13 - Server Side Includes 269 How SSI Is Used 269 SSI and the Server 271 Adding SSI Commands to a Document 271 Using Environment Variables 273 XSSI 273 List of Elements 274 Include Variables 277 Time Formats for SSI Output 278 Part III: Graphics 281 Chapter 14 - GIF Format 283 GIF87a versus GIF89a 283 Eight-Bit Indexed Color 284 GIF Compression 284 When to Use GIFs 284 Tools Overview 285 Interlacing 286 Transparency 287 Minimizing GIF File Sizes 295 Chapter 15 - JPEG Format 301 24-bit Color 301 JPEG Compression 301 When to Use JPEGs 303 Progressive JPEGs 303 JPEGs in AOL Browsers 304 Creating JPEGs 304 Minimizing JPEG File Size 305 Chapter 16 - PNG Format 309 Platform/Browser Support 310 8-Bit Palette, Grayscale, and Truecolor 311 PNG Compression 311 When to Use PNGs 312 Special Features 313 Creating PNG Files 315 Optimizing PNG File Size 319 Online PNG Resources 320 Chapter 17 - Designing Graphics with the Web Palette 321 The Web Palette 321 Other Palettes 323 Image Types 324 Designing with Web-Safe Colors 325 Converting to the Web Palette 327 Survey of Web Graphics Tools 328 Color Blenders 333 Where to Learn More 335 Part IV: Multimedia and Interactivity 337 Chapter 18 - Animated GIFs 339 How They Work 339 Using Animated GIFs 340 Browser Support 340 Tools 341 Creating Animated GIFs 342 Optimizing Animated GIFs 346 Chapter 19 - Audio on the Web 348 Copyright Issues 348 Audio Tools Overview 349 Basic Digital Audio Concepts 350 Nonstreaming versus Streaming 351 Nonstreaming (Static) Audio 353 Streaming Audio 359 Bibliography 363 Chapter 20 - Video on the Web 365 Tools Overview 365 Basic Digital Video Concepts 366 Compression 367 Video File Formats 369 Streaming Video Technologies 371 Adding Video to an HTML Document 373 Bibliography 376 Chapter 21 - Interactivity 377 Flash 377 Shockwave for Director 384 Java Applets 388 Interactive Buttons with JavaScript 391 Chapter 22 - Introduction to JavaScript 397 JavaScript Basics 397 Sample Scripts 399 Handling Multiple Browsers 401 Browser Compatibility 403 Part V: Emerging Technologies 405 Chapter 23 - Cascading Style Sheets 407 How Style Sheets Work 409 Selectors 413 Specifying Values 416 Properties 417 Positioning with Style Sheets 436 What's New in CSS2 440 Style Sheet Tips and Tricks 444 Browser Support Charts 446 Chapter 24 - Introduction to DHTML 447 Advantages to Using DHTML 448 Disadvantages 448 Learning DHTML 449 Browser Differences 449 The Document Object Model 449 DHTML Examples 453 DHTML Tools 459 Where to Learn More 461 Chapter 25 - Introduction to XML 463 Background 463 Document Type Definition (DTD) 464 XML Syntax Basics 464 Examples of XML Technology 466 Where to Learn More 469 Chapter 26 - Embedded Font Technology 471 Using Embedded Fonts 471 TrueDoc Technology ("Dynamic Fonts") 472 OpenType (for Internet Explorer) 473 Chapter 27 - Internationalization 476 Character Sets 476 HTML 4.0 Language Tags 478 For More Information 481 Part VI: Appendixes 483 Appendix A - HTML Tags and Elements 485 Appendix B - List of Attributes 501 Appendix C - Deprecated Tags 529 Deprecated Elements 530 Deprecated Attributes 530 Appendix D - Proprietary Tags 533 Microsoft Internet Explorer Proprietary Tags 533 Netscape Navigator Proprietary Tags 534 Appendix E - CSS Compatibility 536 Glossary 545 Index 553 About the Author/Colophon 579