When you read through this book, you will not only learn XML, you will learn HTML first. ....
The first two-thirds of the book have been written to teach you HTML, the right way. When you are using XML you must close all your tags, even the ones you wouldn't normally close when using HTML. You will learn why, and how to do this.
The second third of the book will teach you XML through the normal chapter way of teaching, as well as with quick reference guides and showing you different codes and telling you what they do. There are also tips and shortcuts, so you don't have to do anything the hard way.
If you are new to Web design, or the Internet, then the first chapter will really come in handy. It will help you understand what the Internet is and define terms such as: client, server, browser, intranet and extranet. You will also learn about the history of the Internet. When, how and why it came into existence and what makes it different from the World Wide Web. Then find out what part HTML plays and why it became the main language used to build Web pages.
The next few chapters start out telling you what tools you will need and shows you a basic HTML document. Then it goes on to explain all the things you need to add to this code to make it a Web page. After that you will begin to learn about the different tags. Even if you already know HTML you will benefit from reading this. You will learn the proper way to use the code so that you can use it with XHTML. You may also learn some new tags.
In the back of the book you will find a section on the grammar of HTML. That means what tags can be inside other tags. It is written in a unique way, almost like a grammar book you may have had in school. This makes it very easy to understand.
There is also an HTML and XHTML quick reference section. This is invaluable and can be used while you are doing the actual Web design. If you have any questions about what tags to use, for something, you can just look here.
Cascading Style Sheets are also becoming a very important part of Web design and that's why they included a quick reference section on this, too. This is a great thing to know if you want to make your pages stand out. With this knowledge you can change colors of text, create easy forms and many other things.
The best thing, this book includes, may be the pull out quick reference, found in the very back of the book, by the back cover. You can tear this out, on the peroration, and take it with you wherever you go. So if you are creating a site for your friends, or a client, you can use it, and they will never know the difference.
If you want to learn XHTML and HTML at the same time, or you need to learn XHTML then this is a great book for you to use. The HTML section is good, even for those of you who already know HTML, because it will teach you how to set up your HTML to be used with the XHTML.
Easy to read, lots of examples and multi-sectioned areas to help you learn your tags. Those are some of the assets this book has for you. You will not regret adding this book to your home or office, no matter who you are.