Essential Dynamic HTML fast

The important term here is fast. Springer Verlag have a series of instruction manuals which reduce instruction to an absolute minimum. If you are looking for guidance shorn of all decoration, then you need look no further.

In only 150 pages, Aladdin Ayesh takes you from an introduction to the Web through to creating dynamic, interactive pages with style sheets and scripts. The price you pay for this is that there is no time to dwell on details and subtleties. His approach is 'This is what can be done - Here's an example - And here's how I did it.' This is a pared-to-the-bone guide, largely dependent on visual examples for its effect.



There are lots of screen shots to illustrate all the techniques he describes - though in some cases his publisher has sold him short. It's not much use discussing the control of colour when all the illustrations are in greyscale.

He covers HTML tag basics, frames, tables, graphics and colour, and what makes a site interactive. I looked at the section on Cascading Style Sheets in detail, and found his minimalist approach quite useful in clarifying what can sometimes be a complex subject. HTML code is shown for all the special effects described - though curiously reproduced in italic capitals.

This is a book for people who do not have the time or inclination to wade through long manuals. The good news is that you certainly will not become bogged down with details. The not-so-good news is that once you've got your pages onto the Web, you may need another instruction manual which covers more details.