DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide [Paperback]

It is required that you have a working knowledge of HTML and Javascript prior to reading this book, as it is designed around the much more advanced topic of CSS/DHTML. People with little knowledge of Javascript should get a Javascript tutorial (I recommend SAM's teach yourself...) first.

Mr. Cranford-Teague has taken the trouble to explain both the documented use and the real-world implementation of CSS. He has taken away much of the testing that is often required when designing against the CSS2 specification. (He makes mistakes so you don't have to!) His quick reference appendix of what-style-elements-work-where should be the most heavily thumbed pages of any book in your HTML design library.

The book is a quick, delightful read with clear, textbook-class examples of every aspect of every CSS specification out there, along with a perfect cross-browser Javascript model that should be the industry standard.

The book is small, and cheap enough to keep up with the latest browser platforms. I own all three versions, and so do all my associate developers!

The DHTML section is short on foundations and uses object-oriented code without explaining how or why that aspect works. It embodies the worst of the Visual Quickstart Guide format: cursory descriptions (at best) for the first appearance of a bit of code, then it glosses over every subsequent use with not even a reminder. Thus it's not a good choice for someone new to Javascript or programming, and those who are familiar with Javascript and web design would probably choose another method over the bloated, API-style programming in this book.

If you're mostly interested in using Javascript's styles object in concert with CSS, this is a poor choice. Peachpit's Javascript book is easier to use and more in tune with web standards.

The navigation scripts he provides shows his complete grasp of both CSS and javascript. Unlike the examples in sites like javascriptkit.com and dynamicdrive.com which are written by javascript gurus, JCT's scripts are hybrid models of both advanced CSS and javascript. The code and mark-up combination are so tightly written, it is absolutely necessary that every web developer gets this book. You won't find code like this anywhere else on the web!

Also, JCT provides excellent examples of code that shows the new directions taken by the Mozilla development team. He reveals a way of making rounded corners using only a few lines of CSS, and no graphics.

My one caveat is that the editors of JCT's 3rd edition did a piss-poor job of copy-checking. On the second chapter, one of the paragraphs in the tips section is duplicated word-for-word. And on page 105, the example is missing a period, thereby making it completely useless unless you spot the mistake. These are only the ones I spotted as I flipped through the book -- I am certain there are many more errors. Buyer beware!