It is an excellent reference for HTML 4.0 tags (including tables, frames, and Cascading Style Sheets) with special attention given to browser support and platform idiosyncrasies. The HTML section is more than a reference work, though. It details strange behavior in tables, for instance, and gives ideas and workarounds for using tables and frames on your site. Web Design in a Nutshell also covers multimedia and interactivity, audio and video, and emerging technologies like Dynamic HTML, XML, embedded fonts, and internationalization.

The book includes:

• Discussions of the Web environment, monitors, and browsers
• A complete reference to HTML and Server Side Includes, including browser support for every tag and attribute
• Chapters on creating GIF, JPEG and PNG graphics, including designing with the Web Palette
• Information on multimedia and interactivity, including audio, video, Flash, Shockwave, and JavaScript
• Detailed tutorial and reference on Cascading Style Sheets, including an appendix of browser compatibility information
• Appendices detailing HTML tags, attributes, deprecated tags, proprietary tags, and CSS compatibility

With all that's changed in the meantime, an overhaul is welcome. This is the rare book for designers that is almost completely nonvisual. It doesn't show what's hip in navigational bars or what the coolest colors are. Rather, it gives readers the kind of know-how that can make a difference between someone who just whips up pretty pages with WYSIWYG applications like Dreamweaver and someone who can make those pages cross-platform, cross-browser, fast loading, and accessible to all.

The clear organization makes it easy to locate any specific topic. There are six sections. "The Web Environment" discusses the realities of browser compatibility, display-resolution problems, a useful bit of Unix, and tips for print designers looking to move into Web design. "Authoring" shows how to write accurate and up-to-date HTML, cascading style sheets, and Server Side Includes (like putting the current date and time on your homepage).

"Graphics" brings together all you need to know to make effective use of images (GIFs, JPEGS, PNGs, and animated GIFs). "Multimedia and Interactivity" helps with adding audio, video, or Flash to your site (including some succinct tips on optimization and publish settings). And "Advanced Technologies" covers JavaScript, DHTML, XML, XHTML, and WAP and WML. And there are six useful look-up tables in the appendix, which include HTML 4.0 tags, deprecated tags, attributes, and CSS support across browsers. Web Design in a Nutshell could easily have been titled The Web Designer's Companion--it's mighty handy to have around. --Angelynn Grant