A Complete Guide to Web Design

xviii Preface

Acknowledgments

Web Design in a Nutshell, eMatter Edition

complete list of tags, both current and obsolete, with detailed descriptions; listings

and detailed descriptions for all known attributes for each tag; browser support

information not listed in this book—such as NCSA Mosaic and earlier versions of

the HTML standards; and up-to-date listings and browser compatibility information.

Thanks also to Chris Farnham, for writing chapters on DHTML and XML, as well as

for his contribution to the SMIL section of the XML chapter.

Much of the wisdom in this book was culled from web design-related mailing lists

such as A List Apart (beautifully maintained by Jeffrey Zeldman), the WebDesign

list at Hesketh.com, and most notably, Monkey Junkies (WebMonkey.com’s online

community). A special “hey” goes out to Taylor.

Also key in the deepening of my understanding of the Web were the works of a

number of O’Reilly authors, including:Webmaster in a Nutshell, by Valerie Quercia

and Stephen Spainhour;HTML: The Definitive Guide, by Chuck Musciano and Bill

Kennedy; Learning the Unix Operating System, by Grace Todino, John Strang, and

Jerry Peek; andDesigning with JavaScript, by Nick Heinle.

I’d like to thank Jim Cline, Dmitry Kirsanov (www.kirsanof.com), Chris Maden, Eric

Meyer, Dustin Mollo, Greg Porell, and Greg Roelofs for their time and thoughtful

review comments.

Thanks to the following people who provided various forms of assistance, infor-

mation, and tools I required to get my job done: Paul Anderson (Builder.com);

Chuck Duff (Digital Frontiers); Brad Ennis and David Lynch (for font research);

Chris Florio (for audio and video assistance); Craig Hockenberry (FurboFilters);

Andrew King (Webreference.com); Kevin Lynch (Macromedia); Doug Meisner

(Adobe Systems, Inc.); and Lynda Weinman (author of a fine set of books).

Thanks also to Clairemarie Fisher O’Leary for her hard work and willingness to

make this book “just right,” as well as the other folks who helped: Mike Sierra,

Edie Freedman, Ellie Cutler, Kim Brown, Chris Reilley, Seth Maislin, and Melanie

Wang.

Finally, I’d like to thank my Mom, Dad, and brother Liam, for their unending

support and the inspiration they each provide. Thanks to Sifl and Olly for keeping

me entertained as my deadline approached. And last, but not least, warm thanks

go to Jeff for being there when I needed him.