# Great XHTML manual?



## michaelsanford (Jun 27, 2003)

My office's web team (me ane one other guy) is redoing our web site in XHTML.

What are your reccomendations for good XHTML manuals?

I am seriuosly not a fan of online manuals. Though the MySQL and PHP online manuals are _amazing_, as far as I've seen, they are the only ones written so well.

Thanks!


----------



## uoba (Jun 27, 2003)

Hmmm, try http://www.w3schools.com for a XHTML tutorial. I also followed the XML tutorial which was really good. I've just ordered a XHTML book from Amazon but haven't received it yet so can't vouch for it.

DWMX covers XHTML pretty well, if it's what you are using.


----------



## michaelsanford (Jun 27, 2003)

Yeah I am using DWMX actually, but I don't like it. Mostly I use PageSpinner and Pico actually


----------



## uoba (Jun 27, 2003)

Ah, a Pico kind of guy... never tried PageSpinner! I love Pico, but I could never do my html in it! (I break out in a rash if I don't UI!)


----------



## mr. k (Jun 27, 2003)

I found that just knowing a little html and using this online tutorial along with the w3c's xhtml drafts has got me pretty far... I didn't want to drop $30 on a book, and now I can build sites that are nice with just xhtml and css.
The css is that hardest part, because xhtml is just markup -- no more bull like font tags and that.  And because browser support for a lot of css still varies wildly it can be a challenge to make a site validate and display right on different platforms.
But good luck, I found that xhtml isn't that much different from html.  And ick, how can people build websites in dreamweaver :# ...


----------



## Dusky (Jun 28, 2003)

> And ick, how can people build websites in dreamweaver :# ...



I can't see myself trusting WYSIWYG editors.  I use BBEdit Lite (free).  Are there actually people who use WYSIWYG even though they can code raw HTML?  What are the benefits?

I fear the editor would add an unnecessary character too many...  enough reason not to trust it.  I like to know the exact contents of the HTML source, and the purpose of each piece of code.


----------



## michaelsanford (Jun 30, 2003)

I know actually I hate DWMX, it's SO slow on my machine (below). I only use if it I can't figure out how to code a table properly, and then I have to go back in and fix it up with all the font and p stuff it messes up.

Thanks for the replies guys!


----------



## uoba (Jun 30, 2003)

Hey, less of the WYSIWYG editor bashing...  I can code HTML no problem, but DWMX cuts my time in half, lets me figure out page layouts a lot easier, and, actually works! My clients don't seem to complain either  (more importantly, neither do the developers I use!)

I leave the hand-code stuff for PHP and MySQL etc.


----------



## michaelsanford (Jun 30, 2003)

Oh yeah sorry I didn't mean to be so harsh hehe. WYSIWYG editors are great, and DWMX is really useful for some layout that I just don't have the brain to work out in my head. 

I just find it sluggish on my machine (even when re-niced), and since MOST of the coding I do is either straight PHP or really simple tables, I just prefer using PageSpinner (since it highlights code) or Pico.

But to be honest, if Pico had syntax highlighting (and parenthesis matching), I'd do it all in Pico...

EDIT: I'd do it all in Pico because I do the bulk of my work over SSH...not because I'm claiming to be really hard-core


----------



## uoba (Jul 1, 2003)

I do love Pico... I hate it when I have to deal with Vi (always forget how to use it, so spend more time re-reading the help file!)

As for tables, I would have to agree, DWMX's is still a bit tricky when dealing with particularly complex tables (GoLive is actually better for this, it has a magnified view of the table structure... barring that, getting stuck into the html is best.)


----------



## toast (Jul 1, 2003)

I'm a BBEdit guy. I just love it. It supports HTML, XHTML, CSS perfectly. I'll be using DWMX for PHP development (thanks uoba), well, at least at the beginning, as I need to be guided through PHP.

Learning XHTML ? You know XHTML already. Read bits of the W3C recommendation, that's all you need. Read a bit of Zeldman, of Mark Pilgrim, of Eric Meyer, that's all.

You'll know XHTML in two days. Just read a bit'o'XHTML coding and you'll know it by heart.

www.zeldman.com
www.meyerweb.com
www.diveintomark.org


----------



## uoba (Jul 1, 2003)

I had a go at looking into XML. I liked the idea that you could have all your document text in an external XML file, and mearly link to the text from a HTML (or XHTML  ) file. I follow the w3schools tutorial on-line, and it works a treat. It'll make editing much easier (haven't had a chance to use it yet though).

Naturally, I followed this up with looking into XHTML, and you're right, it's easy.

As for BBEdit, yes, one of my must haves as well (but I only use the Lite version, maybe it's time to upgrade.)


----------

