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pro CSS & HTML design book

 
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please if you will a series of questions.

1: cross browser; does this book deal with this problem in detail? I have had a few problems in the past, but always worked round them.

2: would this book be a complete reference guide as to the two technologies, or is this just a book for getting started?

3: is there code to follow so that readers can produce accurate pages, as I find this helps?

4: does this book deal with backwards compatibilty in all senses, e.g. smaller screen sizes, older browsers, etc?

5: what about the new technologies like aural style sheets, does this book explain exactly what you need for aural web sites?

thanks, I think that sums up my questions about this book

davy
 
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1- Yes. Since this is a design book, I think such an issue is certainly answered. Such a way to how organize your JavaScript code into reusable components and don't depend on the browser and put those browser dependent in a seperate area.

2- I dont think this will server as a reference. There are many reference books in the market already.

I cannot anticipate about the other points
 
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Cross-browser Issues
I dealt with cross-browser issues in my book, Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns, by finding design patterns that work in all major browsers. I literally took each CSS property and each XHTML element in each major browser and tested each for compatibility. This was a huge undertaking as you can imagine. I then eliminated all the inconsistent, unsupported, or partially supported properties. I then created patterns for each conceivable task you need to do in coding a web page. I tested each pattern in all major browsers.

The bottom line is that I have done all the cross-browser research for you. You can use my patterns with confidence that they work in all major browsers. In addition, my patterns follow best practices. They are valid, accessible, reusable, and can be combined with other patterns to create any design you can imagine.

My book does not use hacks because it doesn't need to. The patterns work reliably in all major browsers including Internet Explorer 6 & 7, Firefox (all versions), Opera 9, and Safari 2.

Lastly, you won't find any unusable CSS properties and XHTML elements in my book like you will find in other books. I only include properties and elements that work in all major browsers. That way you don't have to read about stuff you shouldn't be using or that will cause you grief.
 
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Originally posted by Mike Bowers:
The patterns work reliably in all major browsers including Internet Explorer 6 & 7, Firefox (all versions), Opera 9, and Safari 2.

Impressive that you included Opera and Safari. Most books seem to think that IE and Firefox are the only browsers in existance. Good show!
 
Mike Bowers
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Is it a How-to Book or a Reference Book?

Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns can be used in several ways.

It can be used as a "How To" book that shows you how to use these two technologies in ways like no other book.

If you are a beginner and have no experience at all reading CSS code or XHTML code, then I recommend reading a beginners book first. Otherwise, reading computer code might be intimidating. After that you can use my book to take you to the guru level.

My book can also be used as a reference guide to CSS and XHTML. It contains explanations and examples of every usable CSS property and XHTML element. It goes beyond other reference books in that it shows how XHTML elements work together with CSS properties to create specific effects. Thus, my book is a reference to all usable combinations of XHTML and CSS.

To make the book easy to use, I organize patterns by function. For example, patterns are organized into chapters on styling, spacing, aligning, offsetting, and positioning content. There are also chapters on creating layouts, using tables, styling images, creating drop caps, creating callouts, etc.

Everything in the book is practical and can be used in real-world web pages.
 
Mike Bowers
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Does it contain many examples?

Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns over three-hundred practical examples that you can copy and paste into your code. Each example uses best practices, is accessible, and is completely valid XHTML and CSS. I took great care in creating these examples because I personally learn best by example.

Each design pattern is illustrated with an example. You can see a screenshot of the example, its XHTML code, and its CSS code. Each example occurs on the left page of the book and the example's explanation (i.e. pattern) is on the right page. This makes it very easy to read about a pattern, see its code, and see its screenshot without having to flip pages. It also makes it very easy to thumb through the book looking for a solution because every screenshot is in the same location on every page!
 
Mike Bowers
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Does Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns deal with backward compatibility?

All design patterns work in Internet Explorer 6 (no minor achievement), Firefox (all versions), Opera 9, and Safari 2. They may or may not work in earlier browsers.

There are two reasons my book, Pro CSS and HTML Design patterns, does not discuss older browsers. First, 99% of all Internet users use the browsers supported by my book. This is the main reason that everyone is now finally interested in using CSS. Second, legacy browsers have inadequate and incompatible support of CSS. Thus, it is not feasible to create cross-compatible design patterns for legacy browsers. If you need to support older browsers, you should not use CSS.
 
Mike Bowers
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Does Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns work on smaller screen sizes, such as phones?

Yes. This is the most exciting part of CSS design. It allows you to create fluid layouts that dynamically adjust to the size of the user's browser.

Chapter 17 of Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns shows you exactly how to create fluid layouts reliably. This is one of the major breakthroughs of the book. (Prior to my book, creating fluid layouts was a trial-and-error process.)
 
Mike Bowers
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Does Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns explain technologies like aural style sheets?

No major browser supports aural styles sheets. Aural styles sheets are deprecated in CSS 3. This technology was a no-go from the start because screen readers use their own rules for pronouncing and emphasizing words.

It is better to use meaningful, semantic markup. For example, if you want a screen reader to emphasize a word, mark it up as <em> or <strong>. My book shows you how to do this. Every pattern and example in my book emphasizes accessibility. Thus, it addresses accessibility in the proper way � using markup rather than CSS properties.
 
Bear Bibeault
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Originally posted by Mike Bowers:
Thus, it addresses accessibility in the proper way � using markup rather than CSS properties.

I'm liking what I hear here.

Accessibility is a subject that is often completely ignored, or if not, given mighty short shrift.

Does the book explore and explain the difference and reasoning between using tags such as <strong> vs. <b> for markup?
[ October 10, 2007: Message edited by: Bear Bibeault ]
 
Davy Kelly
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Thanks Mike

You have covered all of my points very thoroughly, and I like the sound of it so far.

I like how you mentioned if you know HTML/CSS it takes you to guru level, I certainly hope so, as I feel I am still just competent.
I like the sound of fluid CSS that can deal with mobile phones.

I was very encouraged by the fact you prefer to learn from example, as I find this method works best for me, ok it might take a bit longer, but I do prefer to test things out, and see what is happening.

Thank you for your reply to my topics. I look forward to maybe one day owning this book, whether it be from this comp or buying it.

good luck in the future
 
With a little knowledge, a cast iron skillet is non-stick and lasts a lifetime.
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