A Guide to Creating Web Sites with HTML, CGI, Java, JavaScript, Graphics..

What Every Web Developer Should Know This is a guide to some of the most important technologies that a web developer might want to learn about, with plenty of links to WDVL, W3C, Internet.com, and many other great sites.

There are several Languages that can be used to create a web site. The underlying foundation which binds web pages together is Hypertext Markup Language - the fundamental building stuff of the web. We present several articles, tutorials, and references on HTML.

HTML

is the lingua franca for publishing hypertext on the World Wide Web. It is a non-proprietary format, based upon SGML, for describing the structure of hypermedia documents - plain text (ASCII) files with embedded codes for logical markup, using tags like <A> and </A> to structure text into tables, hypertext links interactive forms, headings, paragraphs, lists, and more. HTML 4.0 is the latest (draft) standard, moderately supported by the major browsers.

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is an ISO compliant subset of Standard Generalised Markup Language (SGML), a simple coding language using generic semantics that are appropriate for representing information from a wide range of domains. XML is extensible because it is a metalanguage, which enables one to write a Document Type Definition (DTD) and define the rules of the language so the document can be interpreted by the document receiver. The purpose of XML is to provide an easy to use subset of SGML that allows for custom tags to be processed. Custom tags will enable the definition, transmission and interpretation of data structures between organizations.

XML: Structuring Data for the Web: An Introduction is geared toward newcomers who have heard the buzz, but don't know what all the fuss is about. The article briefly surveys a number of new Web technologies such as XLL, XSL, RDF, DOM, MathML, SMIL, PGML, and how they relate to XML. Benefits of XML are stressed, as are potential applications in diverse fields. A reference section provides links to key XML resources, as well as to collections of other introductory articles. XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is really a trio of specifications -- XML syntax, XLL (XML Linking Language), and XSL (eXtensible Style Language). We also briefly examine a number of XML vocabularies -- languages based upon the syntax of XML, such as MathML (Mathematical Markup Language), SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language), and RDF (Resource Description Framework).

Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture focusses on the way in which the various specifications fit into the Big Picture of the efforts of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Next Generation HTML encompasses Cascading Style Sheets, HTML 4.0, the Document Object Model, Dynamic HTML, the XML family of specifications, and the many specifications based on XML, such as RDF, SMIL, and MathML. When we read about a W3C specification, it is useful to understand its role in the larger picture. To help you visualize the Big Picture, we introduce a graphic which doubles as an imagemap to whisk you directly to pages containing details about each topic. A color coding key in the imagemap informs you of the current status of each W3C document. We've also included an acronym expansion chart because the buzz words are far too many to remember.

You can use HTML to create interactive pages using forms, communicating with the server via the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) - a standard for external gateway programs to interface with information servers, such as HTTP or Web servers. A plain HTML document that the Web server delivers is static, which means it doesn't change. A CGI program, on the other hand, is executed in real-time, so that it can output dynamic information - perhaps a weather reading, or the latest results from a database query.

Programming and Scripting techniques will be very useful to add dynamic content, and you may well want to learn how to write JavaScript (for client-side scripting), or a language such as PHP or Perl (for server-side scripting). You can also combine HTML, Style Sheets and Scripting for some Dynamic HTML.

Design When you create your web page or site, it's useful to know some of the principles of Web Design. Many elements go into succesful web site design; we can cluster those elements into sensory, conceptual, and reactive aspects. That is, design isn't only about what you see, it's also about what you think and feel as you navigate a web site.

Style Sheets and Guides explores the basics of engineering Web pages that are attractive and effective, yet are easy to maintain and use. Special emphasis is placed on how to help the user make the most of your information. Numerous aspects of authoring are addressed.

Graphics But you'll certainly want to know about the design and construction of Graphics for the World Wide Web. Graphics add spice and style to web pages, and can help your visitors visualise what your site is about and how it's structured. Spice up your pages with tasteful backgrounds, or 3d graphics, using these tools.

Databases The power of the WWW comes not simply from static HTML pages - which can be very attractive, and the important first step into the WWW - but especially from the ability to support those pages with powerful software, especially when interfacing to databases. The combination of attractive screen displays, exceptionally easy to use controls and navigational aids, and powerful underlying software, has opened up the potential for people everywhere to tap into the vast global information resources of the Internet.

Web Page Databases provide a simple, inexpensive and effective tool for query and reporting of data on a web page. These databases offer an alternative to client/server databases and HTML lists or tables. A web page database is an interactive system used to search, sort and display records. These systems provide small screen footprints, fast response time and a technique to reduce web server processing.

When authoring HTML with style, you might use cascading style sheets, or graphics tools to create background images, icons, 3d graphics. Multimedia can help to animate them, e.g. using GIF animation or Java applets. For interactivity use forms processed by JavaScript or CGI software. Use META tags to help search engines find you on the Internet. Our Tutorials or reference or glossary or the WWW-VL can help you locate more.

While developing Web applications that are Unicode-friendly opens up new possibilities for multi-lingual flexibility, it also introduces some new ways of thinking about characters, and text. This document looks at Unicode, and how it is currently supported in various Web development environments.

Inside Dreamweaver MX - Part 2
New Riders
September 13, 2002
Tip: the only place content can be inserted is in a layout cell, so the necessary cells must be drawn first. Read on to learn how to add text, images, and other media to Dreamweaver MX's layout cells, just as you would add content to a regular HTML table in Standard view.

Inside Dreamweaver MX
New Riders
September 6, 2002
Our excerpt looks at the various options available to let Dreamweaver code tables for you, including Layout view and the Convert Layers to Table command. Learn all about rulers, grids, and tracing images -- viewing aids that can help you create layouts in Design view regardless of how you approach your page layout tables.

Dynamic Dreamweaver MX - Part 4
glasshaus
August 21, 2002
Get up to speed on using the advanced features of Dreamweaver MX. Produce dynamic web sites that comply with web standards and accessibility guidelines. Our excerpt concludes with a look at the server behaviors Update Record, Delete Record, User Authentication and Log Out User. From glasshaus.

Dynamic Dreamweaver MX - Part 3
glasshaus
August 14, 2002
Get up to speed on using the advanced features of Dreamweaver MX. Produce dynamic web sites that comply with web standards and accessibility guidelines. This weeks installment covers server behaviors such as displaying records, showing regions of your document based on a few conditions, and inserting records into your database. From glasshaus.

Dynamic Dreamweaver MX - Part 2
glasshaus
August 7, 2002
Get up to speed on using the advanced features of Dreamweaver MX. Produce dynamic web sites that comply with web standards and accessibility guidelines. This weeks installment covers Bindings, server behaviors,and more! From glasshaus.

Dynamic Dreamweaver MX
glasshaus
July 29, 2002
Get up to speed on using the advanced features of Dreamweaver MX. Produce dynamic web sites that comply with web standards and accessibility guidelines.