Great XHTML manual?

michaelsanford

michaelsanford

Translator, Web Developer
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!
 
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.
 
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!)
 
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 :# ...
 
And ick, how can people build websites in dreamweaver :# ...
Click to expand...

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.
 
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!
 
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.
 
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. :p

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 :D
 
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.)
 
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
 
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.)
 
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