Wonderfully useful. Buy two, one for you and one for your friend. Don't let your boss see it though... best he thinks you know all this stuff already...

Many years ago I learnt my AppleScript skills from a book by a gentleman by the name of Danny Goodman and I was happy to find him tackling the subject of dynamic HTML in Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference. Indeed this is the second edition and seems supremely up to date.

Goodman has tackled a complex subject. With changing standards and even quicker changing browser compatibility it can be a nightmare trying to get a dynamic web site working across disparate browsers and operating systems. A guide that tells you exact syntax and exact compatibility can be invaluable, but is only as good as the research behind it, an area where I cannot fault Goodman.

This volume covers XHTML, CSS and DOM with a large smidgeon of JavaScript. It's not an easy book to get into and consume in large chunks as it does little hand holding but as I was prepared to knuckle down and work at the topics, I found it perfect for me. Goodman has recently released JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook which I have found to be a marvelous volume to assist the process of understanding these technologies.

The target audience would be best summed up as those who have done a fair amount of HTML hand coding and some work in dynamic HTML. The book also adds that you should have "the basics of client-side scripting in JavaScript" and I would agree, when I first acquired this book my JavaScript skills were exceptionally primitive (mainly at the 'plug in example' stage) and found the latter sections of this book heavy going and not much help; now that I am a better JavaScript programmer I find these parts much easier to understand and use.

The book is divided into four parts, 'Applying Dynamic HTML', 'Dynamic HTML Reference', 'Cross References' and 'Appendixes'. I found the first Part particularly helpful when converting my old site across to a more dynamic CSS based site as it helps with various strategies for making sure your content works across browsers and various methods for making sure that visitors with older browsers and search engines can still retrieve valid pages. Goodman's approach of increasing complexity through this Part also suited a movement from a straight HTML site to one using XHTML and CSS. This is also where Goodman's writing can shine, it's an excellent guide to all the technologies and acronym soup. The appendices are marvelous, from 'A', a list of colour names with their RGB value, through a list of character entities to a 50 page list of all HTML tags, their attributes and if they are supported in the two HTML 4 and three XHTML 1 standards.

The reference Parts are well structured with extensive notes on browser support and which particular standard (DOM 1, DOM 2, CSS 1, CSS 2, or none) the tag or attribute comes from. For example, in the DOM section the reference gives you the object name, which versions of Navigator and Explorer support it, the DOM version (if any), a short explanation, then an object reference example, list of properties, methods and event handlers. For each of the properties it gives an example, the type and if it is read-only or read/write. For methods it gives the return value and parameters. This sort of attention to fine detail is throughout the book. You end up with a book 1343 pages long and a 51 page index. Goodman mentions in his Preface that the book now encompasses 'more than 15,000 unique instances of properties, methods and event handlers', a figure I'd believe.

I found this a hard book to review, as are most references. The questions I asked were: one, does the book cover all the material; two, is it correct; three, is it easy to find the entry you want and four, are the entries laid out in an easy to understand manner? In these criteria this volume rates well, with the added bonus of some good material in the first section for understanding the nuances of dynamic HTML in multiple browser, multiple operating system world.

If you are doing a lot of work in Dynamic HTML then this book is probably an essential. While I don't consult it every time I start working on HTML when I run into trouble it is the first place I turn to make sure my syntax and browser compatibility are straight. This book ain't cheap, and it ain't small but I'd recommend it for your desk if you're working with web sites.

The book provides complete references for HTML, XHTML, DOM, Events, CSS and JavaScript/Jscript. It is a shame that the Table of Contents is not presented as that truly shows how complete this title is. Luckily, the TOC is presented on the publisher's web site and I recommend a visit there to see for yourself. Each element reference is complete with information on properties, methods, examples and explanations in a straightforward arraignment. Beyond the references are sections dedicated to explaining how to use the technologies. These sections are not designed as a learners guide, but do provide the information necessary to implement the technology.

I could not imagine my web development without this title. It has been a constant presence on my desk since the first release.

This book departs from the first edition in that it no longer claims any support for Netscape 4, which, for all intents and purposes, is a dead platform. The DOM that Netscape tried to work in to version 4 never got accepted by the W3C, and then when Netscape 6 came out, they made the absolutley correct decision to kill the old DOM and move toward the standard. Having said that, this book does still provide adequate coverage of Netscape 4. I say, in doing that, Goodman has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

In short, I wanted to build a website that took advantage of what DHTML has to offer, and having been frustrated by the lack of quality tutorials and references on the web, I bought this. I found it to be very well written and comprehensive to the extreme, and I was up and running with a cross-browser site in no time. If you are going to do web UI development, grab this book.

What I found most amazing about this book is that it has *every* CSS-2 property that exists. Some of them aren't even supported by Netscape or IE, but they are part of the W3 CSS standard and this book includes them, and even explains their purpose. I find this most amazing. Hopefully Micro$oft and NS will get off their behind and make a fully compliant CSS-2 web-browser :).

Let me tell what this book is not. It is not a tutorial, how-to guide, or system of wonders for those just starting out in web-development, DHTML, or CSS. Although it does have a brief tutorial section (about 180 pages), the core of the book (the remaining 1000 or so pages) is the most concise DHTML reference I have ever seen. This book measures a whole inch thicker than the old version and it's fresh with content, supporting the lastest CSS-Level 2 browsers (Netscape 6+ and IE 5+). The author makes it clear in the beginning of the book that many of the techniques and references presented here are not backwards compatible with Version 4 browsers; as he cleverly mentions, since browsers are free to download, there is no reason for anyone to still be using an older browser. If you're looking for V4 support, he recommends his previous edition. It is nice to know this edition wasn't bogged down with dated material that most of us will never need. V4 compatibility is a pain in and of itself.

When CSS-3 makes its debut in the next year or two (wishful thinking :)), I'd be happy if Mr. Goodman's next version of this text will be half as good as this one. Hopefully it won't take 4 years to come out, though. I do think this current version was needed about 1-2 years ago. It's nice to have it now. This one gets an A+++ in my book!