Contents The XHTML Web Development Sourcebook

Online References:

The XHTML 1.0 Language and Design Sourcebook

See also: References from The XHTML 1.0 Language and Design Sourcebook

On This Page

  1. Markup and Layout Review: HTML and CSS
    1. HTML Resources and Specifications
    2. CSS Resources and Specifications
    3. Some Technical HTML and CSS Books
  2. XML: The eXtensible Markup Language
    1. Core XML Specifications
    2. Core XML Specifications
    3. Common XML Languages
    4. XML and Electronic Commerce
    5. XML Books
  3. Software Processing of XML and HTML
    1. XML Programming Interface Specifications
    2. XML Parsers
    3. XML Processing Tools/Software
    4. XML, SAX and DOM and XSLT Tutorials/Info Sites
    5. Lists of XML-Related URLs
    6. Some XML Editors
    7. List of Common XML DTDs
    8. HTML to XML/XHTML Conversion Utilities
    9. HTML Dynamic HTML (and DOM) References
    10. XML Books
  4. Technical Web Page Design
    1. X/HTML syntax Checkers/Verifiers
    2. Site Optimization Tutorials
    3. Image File Optimization Tools
    4. Books on Web Graphics
    5. Animated GIF Optimization
    6. CSS Compatibility Information
    7. JavaScript Bugs and Compatibility Information
    8. JavaScript Standards and Related Specifications
    9. Non-Traditional Web Browsers
    10. Accessible Design Guidelines
  5. Web Site Architecture and Design
    1. Web-Specific Books and Sites
    2. General Issues in Design and Hypermedia
  6. Web Site/Application Design and Management
    1. Books on Web Project Management
    2. User Demographics and other Web Surveys
    3. 6.3 Use Case Analysis
    4. Web site and Software Testing
    5. Web Site Testing
    6. Bug/Problem Tracking Tools
    7. Web Site Performance Monitoring
    8. Web Site Content Management Tools
  7. Internet Networking
    1. IP Networking and IP Software
    2. Domain Name System
    3. Network Architectures and Technologies
    4. Internet Security
    5. Web Server Load Averaging and Distributed Caching
  8. Internet Networking
    1. Overviews and Defined URL Schemes
    2. Proposed URL Schemes and Updates
    3. Some Protocol and Data Format Specifications
    4. URIs: Uniform Resource Identifiers
    5. URNs: Uniform Resource names
  9. The HTTP Protocol
    1. Books on HTTP
    2. HTTP Overviews and Specifications
    3. Data Encryption and Security
    4. Browser Proxy Autoconfiguration
    5. Content Negotiation
    6. Time and Date Formats
    7. Browser and Server Comparisons
  10. Data Processing on an HTTP Server
    1. Modules for Faster CGI Processing
  11. CGI Programming Examples and Parsed HTML
    1. CGI References, Tutorials, and Resource Sites
    2. CGI Security
    3. CGI Program Archive Sites
    4. Language-Specific Information/Libraries
    5. Server Modules for Faster CGI Processing
  12. Web Application Development Tools
    1. Site Management Tools
    2. Content Management Tools
    3. Page Scripting Environments
    4. Web Application Servers
  13. Character Sets, Character Encoding, and Document Character Sets
  14. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)
  15. HTTP Methods and Header Fields Reference
  16. Syntax for Apache Server Side Include (SSI) Commands

1. Markup and Layout Review: HTML and CSS

1.1 HTML Resources and Specifications

1.2 CSS Resources and Specifications

1.3 Some Technical HTML and CSS Books

The XHTML 1.0 Language and Design Sourcebook, by Ian Graham, John Wiley and Sons, 2000. The companion book to this one, this is a good, detailed book on HTML, XHTML (see Chapter 2!) and CSS as tools for designing Web pages.
HTML and XHTML: The Definitive Guide, by Chuck Musciano, Bill Kennedy, and Mike Loukides (ed.), O'Reilly and Associates, 1998. Another good technical book focusing on the details of XHTML and HTML.
Cascading Style Sheets, Second Edition: Designing for the Web, by Hakon Wium Lie, Bert Bos and Robert Caillau, Addison-Wesley, 1999. This is a very complete book on the technical details of CSS Level 2, by the editors of the language specification.
Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, by Eric Meyer, O'Reilly and Associates, 2000. A good, detailed description of CSS as implemented in current browsers, by the author of the Webreview CSS compatibility charts (webreview.com/pub/guides/style/style.html).

2. XML: The eXtensible Markup Language

2.1 Core XML Specifications

2.2 Core XML Specifications

2.3 Common XML Languages

2.4 XML and Electronic Commerce

2.5 XML Books

The XML Specification Guide, by Ian Graham and Liam Quin, John Wiley and Sons, 1999--A good introduction to XML, and a good technical review of the XML specifications. This will be of interest to both technical and non-technical readers.
Applied XML: A Toolkit for Programmers, by Alex Ceponkus and Faraz Hoodbhoy, John Wiley and Sons, 1999 --A useful, technical book explaining how XML can be processed, with a bent towards the software tools available in the Internet Explorer 5 browser.
The XML Bible, by Elliotte Rusty Harold, IDG Books, 1999. Lots of XML information, as the title would suggest. The Website, at metalab.unc.edu/xml/books/bible/, has useful updated chapters on topics such as XSLT, XLinks, and XPointers.
The XML Pocket Reference, by Robert Eckstein, O'Reilly and Associates, 1999--The title says it all: a useful pocket reference covering the essence of XML.
XML: A Manager's Guide, by Kevin Dick, Addison-Wesley, 1999--A semi-technical book that focuses on the ramifications of XML to those managing document management and software development projects.
Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers, by Theresa A. Martin, John Wiley and Sons, 1999--A semi-technical book that will be of interest to Web site designers and managers, as opposed to software developers.

3. Software Processing of XML and HTML

3.1 XML Programming Interface Specifications

3.2 XML Parsers

3.3 XML Processing Tools/Software

3.4 XML, SAX and DOM and XSLT Tutorials/Info Sites

3.5 Lists of XML-Related URLs

3.6 Some XML Editors

3.7 List of Common XML DTDs

3.8 HTML to XML/XHTML Conversion Utilities

3.9 HTML Dynamic HTML (and DOM) References

3.10 XML Books

XML IE5 Programmer's Reference, by Alex Homer, Wrox Press, 1999. A programmer's guide to using XML within the IE5 browser.
IE5 Dynamic HTML Programmer's Reference, by Brian Francis, Alex Homer and Chris Ullman, Wrox Press, 1999. A programmer's guide to dynamic HTML (DHTML, whatever) as implemented on Internet Explorer 5
Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Guide, by Danny Goodman, O'Reilly and Associates, 1998. A bit out of date, but an excellent guide to dynamic HTML on Internet Explorer 4 and Navigator 4. A related and also useful book is Javascript: The Definitive Guide, David Flannagan, O'Reilly and Associates, 1998.
Applied XML: A Toolkit for Programmers, by Alex Ceponkus and Faraz Hoodbhoy, John Wiley and Sons, 1999--A useful, technical book explaining how XML can be processed, with a bent towards the software tools available in the Internet Explorer 5 browser.
The Open Source XML Database Toolkit, by Liam Quin, John Wiley and Sons, 2000. A useful discussion of tools and tricks for designing XML-based database-driven applications using open source software tools. There are many working code examples.
The XML Specification Guide, by Ian S. Graham and Liam Quin, John Wiley and Sons, 1999. A useful review of XML markup and of the processing behavior required of XML parsers.

4 Technical Web Page Design

4.1 X/HTML syntax Checkers/Verifiers

4.2 Site Optimization Tutorials

Please note that some of the optimizations recommended at the listed sites, such as removing quotes around attribute values, will lead to non-valid markup, and can cause problems on some browsers.

4.3 Image File Optimization Tools

4.4 Books on Web Graphics

Designing Web Graphics, 3d Edition, Lynda Weinman, New Riders, 1999
Designing Web Site Images: A Practical Guide, Gene Berryhill, Delmar Publishing, 2000
Creating Great Web Graphics, 2d Edition, Laurie McCanna, IDG Books, 1997
Animation on the Web, Sean Wagstaff, Corbin Collins (Editor), Peachpit Press, 1998
Effective Web Animation: Advanced Techniques for the Web, J. Scott Hamlin, Addison-Weseley, 1999

4.5 Animated GIF Optimization

4.6 CSS Compatibility Information

4.7 JavaScript Bugs and Compatibility Information

4.8 JavaScript Standards and Related Specifications

4.9 Non-Traditional Web Browsers

4.10 Accessible Design Guidelines

5. Web Site Architecture and Design

5.1 Web-Specific Books and Sites

info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/ -- This site contains an excellent on-line discussion of hypertext design issues, and their relevance to the Web. This resource has a large and very useful annotated bibliography. The authors of the collection are Patrick J. Lynch, director of the Center for Advanced Instructional Media at the Yale University School of Medicine, and Sarah Horton, a Multimedia Applications Specialist for Academic Information Resources at Dartmouth College
www.useit.com -- This is Jakob Nielsen's personal site, and contains many useful articles and Web site design and usability. usableweb.com -- Another site devoted to Web design and Web usability. Contains a good collection of articles, plus many links to other resources.
dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/WWW/Web_Usability/ -- a list of links to sites covering Web usability topics.
Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity, by Jakob Nielsen, New Riders Publishing, 2000. -- An opinionated book by someone who's opinion on Web design is well worth reading about. This is a must-have book for all Web designers.
Web Navigation: Designing the User Experience, by Jennifer Fleming, O'Reilly and Associates, 1998 -- One of the first books to summarize the issues and problems associated with designing Web architectures that work from the users and designers perspectives. There are many useful examples and cases studies, plus a nice chapter on the process of developing a Web site.
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville, O'Reilly and Associates, 1998 -- A good review of technical architectural issues related to Web design.

5.2 General Issues in Design and Hypermedia

The Non-Designer's Design Book, by Robin Williams, Peachpit Press (1994) -- This small, outstanding book covers all the basic elements of good typography, page layout, and book design. Although written for the printed page, this is a must-read book for anyone who wants to design Web pages and who does not have a background in design and/or typography.
Designing Visual Interfaces: Communication-Oriented Techniques, by Kevin Mullet and Darrell Sano, Prentice-Hall (1995) -- An excellent book on visual interface design concepts for computer graphical user interfaces. A bit out of date, and not focussed on Web design (which has constraints from generic computer interface design) but still a useful book to read.
Designing and writing online documentation, Second Edition, by W. K. Horton, John Wiley and Sons (1994) -- An excellent book that covers in detail all aspects of electronic document design. There are also many useful references. Visual Design of the User Interface, by E. R. Tufte, IBM Corporation (1989) -- An excellent review of the issues associated with designing usable interfaces of all types for users.
Envisioning Information, by E. R. Tufte, Graphics Press (1990) -- Simply a lovely book that illustrates the many ways in which information can be graphically communicated, with some reflections on computer interface issues. This is a must-have book for any serious interface designer, and makes a wonderful addition to any coffee table.
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by E. R. Tufte, Graphics Press (1983) -- This is considered by many to be the best book ever written on the graphical presentation of data. This is an outstanding book, which nicely compliments his later work, Envisioning Information.
Hypertext, by George P. Landow, Johns Hopkins University Press (1992) -- This is a discussion not of the technical aspects of hypertext, but of the literary meaning of hypertext, and of its impact on our understanding of text and literature. If "critical theory" or the name Michel Foucault mean anything to you, then this is the book to read.
The Gutenberg Elegies, by Sven Birkerts, Fawcett Columbine (1994) -- Some thoughts on the usefulness of hypertext and hypermedia, and on the advantages of print. A much easier book to read than Hypertext. His newer book, Readings, published in 1999 by Graywolf Press, apparently brings some of these arguments up to date. Unfortunately I haven't read it.

6. Web Site/Application Design and Management

6.1 Books on Web Project Management

Secrets of Successful Web Sites: Project Management on the World Wide Web, by David Siegel, Hayden Books, 1997. -- I disliked Dave's "Killer Web Sites" book, but rather enjoyed this one: a great collection of case studies, plus some useful observations on how the process works in real-world environments.
Collaborative Web Development: Strategies and Best Practices for Web Teams, by Jessica R. Burdman, Addison-Wesley, 1999. -- I am afraid I haven't read this book, but others have told me that it is an excellent choice for anyone thinking of a career in Web project management.
Death March: The Complete Software Developer's Guide to Surviving "Mission Impossible" Projects, by Edward Yourdon, Prentice Hall, 1997.--A thoughtful yet entertaining discussion of how software (read: Web) projects really work, with useful guidelines for managing such projects.
Web Navigation: Designing the User Experience, by Jennifer Fleming, O'Reilly and Associates, 1998.--Chapter 3 has a nice discussion of the Web site development process: examples of the site design process are found throughout the book.
Microsoft Solutions Framework (Training program; see: www.microsoft.com/MSF/). Microsoft teaches a series of courses on software project management, and many of the skills and processes are directly relevant to managing Web projects. Similar courses are offered by IBM (see: www-5.ibm.com/services/learning/uk/courses/ms02u.html), and no doubt by others.

6.2 User Demographics and other Web Surveys

6.3 Use Case Analysis

UML Distilled: A brief guide to the standard object modeling language, by Martin Fowler with Kendall Scott (Second Edition), Addison Wesley Longman, (2000) -- Chapter 3 has a short, elegant introduction to use cases.

6.4 Web site and Software Testing

Client Server Software Testing on the Desk Top and the Web, by Daniel J. Mosley, Prentice-Hall, (1999) -- A good text on software testing of client-server and Web-based software. This is an advanced book, but will be useful to anyone who has to manage a large-scale Web software development project. There are many other books that cover this topic: you can find them by searching most bookstore Web sites.

6.5 Web Site Testing

6.6 Bug/Problem Tracking Tools

A) Web-based Mailing List Archives
B) Bug Tracking Systems

6.7 Web Site Performance Monitoring

6.8 Web Site Content Management Tools

A) Large-Scale Management Systems
B) Small-Scale Management Systems
C) Content Management Information Sites

7. Internet Networking

7.1 IP Networking and IP Software

Internetworking with TCP/IP Vol. I: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture (Third Edition), by Douglas E. Comer, Prentice Hall, (1995).
Ip Fundamentals: What Everyone Needs to Know About Addressing & Routing, by Thomas A. Maufer, Prentice-Hall, (1999)

7.2 Domain Name System

7.3 Network Architectures and Technologies

7.4 Internet Security

Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker (Second Edition), by W.R. Cheswick and S.M. Bellovin, Addison-Wesley, (2000) -- Considered the bible of security issues: well written and detailed).
Maximum Security: A Hacker's Guide to Protecting Your Internet Site and Network, by Anonymous, Sams, (1998) -- a more introductory book; discussed many different computer systems

7.5 Web Server Load Averaging and Distributed Caching

8. Internet Networking

8.1 Overviews and Defined URL Schemes

8.2 Proposed URL Schemes and Updates

8.3 Some Protocol and Data Format Specifications

8.4 URIs: Uniform Resource Identifiers

8.5 URNs: Uniform Resource names

9. The HTTP Protocol

9.1 Books on HTTP

Web Proxy Servers, by Ari Luotonen, Prentice-Hall, (1998) -- A detailed review of Web server operation and management, with a focus on proxy servers.

9.2 HTTP Overviews and Specifications

9.3 Data Encryption and Security

9.4 Browser Proxy Autoconfiguration

9.5 Content Negotiation

9.6 Time and Date Formats

9.7 Browser and Server Comparisons

10. Data Processing on an HTTP Server

10.1 Modules for Faster CGI Processing

11. CGI Programming Examples and Parsed HTML

11.1 CGI References, Tutorials, and Resource Sites

11.2 CGI Security

11.3 CGI Program Archive Sites

11.4 Language-Specific Information/Libraries

11.5 Server Modules for Faster CGI Processing

12. Web Application Development Tools

12.1 Site Management Tools

12.2 Content Management Tools

12.3 Page Scripting Environments

Active Server pages (ASP) www.microsoft.com Commercial (free with base-level Web servers). Scripting language is a version of VBScript. Several companies such as Chili!Soft (www.chilisoft.com) and Halcyon Software (www.halcyonsoft.com) have developed ASP implementations for other platforms such as Linux, Solaris, Apple and Novell).
Cold Fusion www.allaire.com Commercial (circa $USD 1300 to $5000; varies depending on platform and features). Uses special markup tags for script instructions. See also Section 12.4
HTML/OS www.aestiva.com Commercial (circa $USD 800 per server). Scripting language is based on BASIC.
iHTML www.ihtml.com commercial ($USD 150 to $USD 900). Uses special markup tags for script instructions.
Java Server Pages (JSP) www.javasoft.com/products/jsp/index.html; www.iplanet.com and other servers and application server development environments Commercial. Includes Java code (or references to Java Servlets) from within the document. The Apache server project is preparing an open source version: see jakarta.apache.org
Livewire www.iplanet.com Commercial. Server-side JavaScript support is included in most iPlanet servers.
meta-HTML www.metahtml.com Free (with license; source code is available). Uses special markup tags for script instructions.
MivaScript htmlscript.volant.com Commercial (limited feature free version; $USD 100 to $USD 900 for various commercial versions). Uses special markup tags for script instructions.
NeoWebScript www.unreality.com/neowebscript/ free (open source as of June 2000). Scripting language based on tcl (dev.scriptics.com/) (Updated Info and URL - 12/Nov/2000)
PHP www.php.net free (GNU public license). C-like scripting language.
Curl www.curl.com Commercial (not yet released). An interesting twist on this class of development environment. Some technical information is found at curl.lcs.mit.edu/curl/

12.4 Web Application Servers

Appendix A Character Sets, Character Encoding, and Document Character Sets

Appendix B Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)

B.1 Introductory Documents on MIME (Slightly Out of Date)

B.2 MIME FAQ Documents

B.3 Internet Mail Message Syntax Specification

B.4 MIME Specifications

B.5 Lists of MIME Types

B.6 MIME Test Page (Example Data Files)

Appendix D HTTP Methods and Header Fields Reference

Appendix E Syntax for Apache Server Side Include (SSI) Commands

© 2000, by Ian S. Graham Last Modified: 5 September 2001