| | |  | Books | Home » » Bulletproof Web Design: Improving flexibility and protecting against worst-case scenarios with XHTML and CSS (2nd Edition) | | | | | | | Description: | | No matter how visually appealing or content-packed a Web site may be, if it's not adaptable to a variety of situations and reaching the widest possible audience, it isn't really succeeding. In Bulletproof Web Desing, author and Web designer extraordinaire, Dan Cederholm outlines standards-based strategies for building designs that provide flexibility, readability, and user control--key components of every sucessful site. Each chapter starts out with an example of an unbulletproof site one that employs a traditional HTML-based approach which Dan then deconstructs, pointing out its limitations. He then gives the site a make-over using XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), so you can see how to replace bloated code with lean markup and CSS for fast-loading sites that are accessible to all users. Finally, he covers several popular fluid and elastic-width layout techniques and pieces together all of the page components discussed in prior chapters into a single-page template. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780321509024
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Dan Cederholm | | Paperback:
| 312 pages | | Publisher:
| New Riders Press | | Publication Date:
| August 19, 2007 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0321509021 | | Package Length:
| 8.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.4 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.6 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.3 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 117 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 Worth the MoneyFeb 25, 2010
Though this book isn't exactly as extensive as I'd have liked it to be, it is well worth the money. Well that is, if you don't already know the tips that are offered in the book. But for someone who is just getting into using CSS, has learned the beginner level stuff, this is a good book to help you jump start your journey into the more advanced stuff. If you are starting out in web design this should definitely be a book in your arsenal.
Simple, Yet EffectiveFeb 23, 2010
Love the book. I like the way the author sets up the strawman argument for an aspect of web design, only to blow it up and to offer a bulletproof concept. Couldn't get much more simpler than that. The only negative is that some concepts are too simple; seemingly aimed for beginners. (I consider myself to have an intermediate skill set.)
Still, I haven't touched web design for ages, mostly dabbling in Flash, PHP and simple HTML. (For example, I was still using table-based layouts) I was startled to find out how much semantic web layouts (& CSS) has truly changed since the advent of web standards. If anything, it has taught me the value of continuously educating myself as technology can change and you could be left behind.
Don't be like me; don't pick up bad habits from bygone years and sticking with them. Pick up this book and start learning how to create web designs in a semantic way and beautifying them with CSS.
 Bulletproof Wonderfully!Jan 09, 2010
Great book. A BIG help with the software. A must have for the office. Quick reference.
Solid CSS BookJan 02, 2010
I liked this book much more on 2nd. reading than 1st. At quick glance, it seemed to me that the author was way too often simply setting up straw men and then knocking them over. After all, the book came out in 2007, not 2003-2005. *Everybody* now knows the shortcomings of using tables for layout (as was routine when I worked full-time on the web in the late 90's to early 2000's). The kids getting out of school nowadays don't even learn that technique, which actually has it's own mild learning curve. It almost seems that C. is nostalgic for the war against old school coding. But, V-Day was a couple of years ago and CSS won...
And at this date, why mention Netscape 4, even in passing? Most designers don't even worry about IE5 and don't necessarily strive to make everything look the same in IE6 as in better browsers. Also, as in every CSS book, there is the blanket recommendation to code in XHTML. Validating against a 'best practices' HTML 4.01 strict DTD enforces a very similar coding style without using XHTML. If you're building a simple page, it doesn't matter much one way or the other. If you're dealing with a lot of JavaScript, possibly even with mashup with other parties code, you must thoroughly understand the implications of using XHTML with respect to how the various browsers set up the DOM. It's far from a slam dunk for XHTML despite what the politically correct types tell you. But, that's my pet peeve and these kinds of books all say use XHTML. However, even a sidebar mention of the issue vis a vis the DOM would be nice.
On the plus side, and there's a lot on the plus side, the book is very clearly written and nicely designed. The graphics and code snippets are well chosen so you can see at a glance what's going on. If you're learning CSS and set up a notes/lab page in your editor and follow along as you read you'll end up with a permanently useful reference and some nice working examples. The summary of the font-size (and the usability issue of using pixel sizing) is one of the clearest I've seen. The chapter on making a nav bar from an unordered list is a nice clear step-by-step, albeit something you could find many other places on the web from ~2005 on. The chapter on using background images to make rounded corners is useful and in general after reading this book I have a greater appreciation of using background images with CSS. There's a nice section on extending Cedarholm's own faux column technique to a liquid, percentage based layout (sliding faux columns). The chapter on self-clearing floats is pretty good, although I believe the recommended technique from the Position Is Everything website has been superseded with a new approach. The chapter on indestructible boxes uses an example that won't work in the general case (works for the itty bitty box shown). The tables chapter is OK. The fluid and elastic layouts chapter is good, albeit, you can find layouts like these many other places. Still, especially for a novice, I think it would be very useful to work through this chapter. Like most designers, Cedarholm, prefers floats to positioning. For an alternative POV, check out Andy Clarke's Transcending CSS.
So, all in all, good book. I'd put it a notch below Andy Budd's CSS Mastery, which is what I would choose if I had to pick a book to teach CSS, but this is still a worthy contender. Experienced CSS users may not learn a huge amount from it, but that's not really the intended audience. I look forward to reading his new book.
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Good for intermediate level web designersSep 16, 2009
Book explains common techniques for avoiding browser display incapabilities when dealing with W3C standards. Note that you will need some knowledge of CSS before reading this.
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