BOOK
REVIEW:
Untangling the Web
By Jennifer
Niederst
A new book from O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., gives expert advice for writing successful web pages.
Seattle Chapter
With Microsoft and Netscape releasing new browsers every six months, and new standards emerging at a furious pace, writing for the Web can be a disorienting experience. Jennifer Niederst's book, Web Design in a Nutshell, helps writers and web designers make sense of the tangled Web.
Provides
useful background information
Although the book could easily be used as a survey of Web technologies, its value goes much deeper. Jennifer Niederst has worked as a web designer since 1993, and the book benefits from her years of experience. She includes background information that, though not cutting-edge web technology, is key to designing high-quality web pages. For example, the chapter on web design principles explains how monitor resolution affects image size, and why a color displayed in a Macintosh browser appears darker than the same color displayed in a Windows browser. The chapter on GIF images includes information on reducing GIF file sizes, using anti-aliasing to prevent "halos", and controlling transparency. The chapter on audio discusses copyright issues, the differences between streaming and non-streaming audio, and the kind of audio that will best fit your design goals.
Reviews
current debates
In addition to giving technical information and practical advice, the book debates current issues, such as the merits of fixed versus flexible design and the effects of animation on readability. The introductory chapter includes an invaluable table showing the capabilities of different browsers, and discusses the popularity of different browser versions for specific types of audiences. Several chapters in the back assess emerging technologies, such as XML and embedded font technology. Understanding these issues enables writers to design effective web pages for their specific audience.
Presents information clearly
Technical information is presented in a concise but accessible format. Tables and examples are used to effectively convey information. Chapters are well organized and self-contained, making it easy for readers to skip to the chapters they are interested in. Several useful appendixes list all of the HTML tags and attributes used in the book, including a list of tags that have been deprecated by the World Wide Web Consortium in favor of newer tags. The book even includes a thorough glossary, which will be much appreciated by those new to the Web.
Recognizing that the Web is an evolving medium, Jennifer Niederst sprinkles links to current web pages throughout the book. Two of the links refer to color charts on the book's web page on the O'Reilly web site. These color charts display the colors in 140 web color names and the 216 colors of the Web Palette, along with their RGB and hexadecimal values.
This book is an excellent resource for writers new to the Web, as well as those who are very familiar with it. It is an especially useful book for writers who are familiar with the Web, but who want to quickly learn about new web technologies, or get expert advice on using the various technologies to create effective and readable web pages. After reading the book, I felt as if I had completed an apprenticeship with a knowledgeable and skilled web designer.
The O'Reilly web site includes an errata sheet for the January 1999 edition of this book. The corrections are minor and easy to insert; however, a version with corrections was published March 1999. For more information about the book, visit the Web Design in a Nutshell web page on the O'Reilly web site.
- Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
- Netscape is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries.
- Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
Katey King works at WRQ, Inc. in Seattle, Washington. She writes technical notes published on the Web.
Volume 2, # 2