HTML: The Definitive Guide

This is a dry, but extremely rigorous description of all aspects of HTML language, its syntax and use, up to Standard 2.0. Musciano and Kennedy proceed very systematically through the anatomy of an HTML document, explaining every smallest detail from tags, spacing, and the placing of codes, up to the differences between content-based tags and physical tags. 

For instance, they admit that you can omit certain tags, names, and titles, but advise against it for very convincing reasons. It will make searching easier in future revisions of your documents. Moreover, some search engines will be able to detect your key words even though they are not visible in the text at it appears on screen. It is also a way of 'future-proofing' your work in the face of a rapidly-developing Standard.



For serious users, this sort of advice is worth a dozen ready-made templates. One of the most important features of this book is that they explain why the HTML language works as it does. They discuss the relevance of the codes and the 2.0 standard, as well as the direction in which it is likely to develop. They include full indexes of HTML grammar and Document Type Definition (DTD), ISO character entities, and the latest colour names. 

They had a publication date of March 1996, and in days of very rapid developments, this has the feel of a book which is as up to date as it is possible to be - without sacrificing publishing production standards. Standard 3.2 was announced in May 96, eight weeks later, and confirmed many of their predictions (including the demise of 'Blink' and 'Marquee'). 

Their rigour is the feature which will make this (I imagine) a standard reference work. In the section on Web links there are for instance several pages on the analysis of http URL addresses alone. The detail they offer is useful not only for potential authors, but for all of us as readers - in explaining why we don't receive certain documents and what all those strange %5E signs mean. 

They aim to be clear - although there are some patches of fairly poor writing. 

"Thereafter, you may append the name, after a separating hash mark (#); as a suffix in the URL of a hyperlink that references that specific place in your document." 

This may be true, but it's not easy to understand, is it! 

There are no gimmicks here, no CD-ROM glued to the inside back cover, and though the style of writing and the technical density might deter beginners, it's a book which explains the essentials, and is likely to be kept close to hand as a source of reference. It has all the qualities which has given the O'Reilly imprint its very high reputation. I think it's also worth mentioning the elegant design and physically robust character of their publications. Even a one inch thick tome like this will lie flat with its pages open on the desktop without any damage to the spine.