In a week, huh? I'm always skeptical of such titles but HTML isn't all that complicated and the lessons in this book aren't all that hard. I learned HTML in less than a week without this book so almost any bozo ought to be able to handle it in a week with the advantage of Laura Lemay's wisdom.
The book uses a day 1 through day 7 approach with plenty of reference materials and Q & A at the end of each chapter. The approach is not specific to any one brand of authoring software but rather, takes a generic approach. You can develop HTML documents using MS Word or Notepad so you wouldn't really have to have a specialized software program to do it. Perhaps a bit more explanation of the advantages of programs like HoTMetaL would have been nice.
One good reason for the approach taken is that if you learn to write HTML from scratch, you are more likely to have an understanding of how it works than if you have HoTMetaL do all the work for you. When things go wrong you need to know what makes HTML tick in order to isolate and correct the problem.
Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a Week covers all the basic browsers - a good idea since HTML can look very different depending on which different browsers are used to view it. The author's constant mention of different browsers is useful for keeping HTML students aware of browser inconsistencies.
The Web is changing so fast it would be difficult to describe all the latest browsers but the book is recent enough that Netscape is mentioned as being one of the most advanced. At the time this review is being written, Booklink and Quarterdeck have both come out with browsers that make Netscape look like something Grandma used to use. Some of the things allowed with the new browsers will certainly be covered in future editions.
This rapidly changing nature of the Web is something Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a Week doesn't emphasize quite enough. I feel the author has fallen into a trap many Net "old hands" fall prey to: total reverence for Berners-Lee and for the idea that HTML is designed so that appearance is the least importance factor. Please don't get me wrong, I am full of admiration and thankfulness for Berners-Lee and others that helped make the Web what it is today and will become in the future. But I feel we have to realize that the Web has taken on a life of its own in large part steered by commercial interests. Whether this is good or bad is a moot point - it's simply what's happening. The fact is that many, if not most, HTML authors today are designing for appearance. Many Web sites say right near the top that they were designed to look best when viewed with Netscape. This is because Netscape is one of the few browsers that allows centering, text wrap around graphics, different font sizes on the same line, blinking (all right, they could have skipped this), and several other appearance tags and attributes. People want to get fancy and will whether HTML and the Web was designed to handle it or not. People are shoehorning advanced graphic design techniques into HTML already and since this book was published tables, text columns, background and text colors, and more advanced formatting have appeared and startling design features are right around the corner.
Berners-Lee recommends HTML authors use a strictly hierarchical approach to text sizes moving carefully down from H1 headlines to H2, then H3, then H4, and so on. NEVER skip a level. Why not? I have yet to hear a good explanation. Sure Lynx users may wonder why you did it and there are numerous other users of bare bones browsers that may not get the full benefit of creative HTML authoring. But should that mean every HTML developer should aim for the lowest common denominator?
Good graphic design uses contrast to get a message across.
LARGE HEADLINES
followed by much smaller body copy is good design. LARGE HEADLINES
followed by ONLY A LITTLE BIT SMALLER TEXT
takes away from the impact of the headlines. I haven't heard Berners-Lee being praised for outstanding graphic design talents. His skills and talents are huge and undeniable but I don't think we should blindly follow his advice for graphic design. The Web has changed since he invented it and HTML has also.
Although Laura Lemay falls into the very minor sin of recommending a strict hierarchical progression from H1 to H2 and so on overall, Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a Week is the best, most complete HTML reference I have seen. For a person wanting to truly learn HTML in a week, the book can do it for you. For an intermediate or even an advanced user there will certainly be plenty of new things to learn. My copy has more than a few dogeared pages marking things I know I will want to look at over and over again.
In spite of my religious gripes above, I think Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a Week is a must-have reference for anyone developing HTML. If you want to learn HTML, it is a natural.
