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molly.com
Tuesday 31 August 2004
summery readings
SUMMER’S NEARING AN end, clouds are still gathering in southern Arizona. Maybe we’ll have some more rain. In the meantime, Dan Cederholm’s “Web Standards Solutions” is hands-down the best book for web professionals this summer. Probably this year.
What’s surprising is that this is Dan’s first book. The style is direct, born of his web site, SimpleBits, which inspired aspects of the book.
“I wanted an easy way to show people the comparison and consequences of various methods – why something may work better over another, instead of just saying it should.”
So Dan developed his quiz-based approach, which allows the reader to not only explore the nuances of structure and style, but also provides us with an idea of how many approaches can – and do – work to achieve the same goal.
Herein lies the draw of Dan’s message: Sometimes there’s more than one approach, and all might be right.
I was curious what it was like to work with Friends of Ed, which many avid computer book readers and fellow authors, editors and publishers will remember as being an imprint of the dead and gone Wrox press UK.
Wrox collapsed under bad finances and had portions of various imprints picked up by Wiley and Apress.
Working with Apress was a good experience for Dan. His virgin adventure as an author appears to have been positive overall. Dan praises his tech editor, Drew McClellan, who is a well-respected and beloved colleague of my own via the Web Standards Project (WaSP).
The experience of writing, Dan says, is quite like his wife’s Triathlon training:
“First it was short 5K runs, then a short triathlon . . .then a marathon. You’re never done, even though each step is an accomplishment.”
Bitten by the book writing bug, Dan is simmering up some book projects for the future. In the meantime, we’ve been graced by a practical and truly useful resource in “Web Standards Solutions.”
Congratulations Dan, on doing something right the first time.
Filed under: standards, web design and development
Posted by: Molly | 18:26 | Comments (23)
Molly this is an awesome book. It really is an extremly easy read. Thanks for recomending it.
I don’t own this book yet, but each day I want to get it more. It’s one book that I know will fit quite well on my shelves.
It’s a kick-ass book, and Dan’s commissioning editor was Chris Mills, who tech-edited our own Usability book, Molly.
I have just recently finished reading it too. Awesome! Truly awesome.
Thanks much for the kind words, Molly, as well as those who commented. I couldn’t imagine a more positive reception for this little book. I need only write approximately 5,298 more books to catch up with you
I fell in love with Dan’s book. I was reading this book while on a flight to Chicago to LA. People thought I was crazy because I was so engrossed reading it and I’d mutter “Ohs and Ahs” once in awhile.
Yup, get the book if you dont have it yet.
Molly the book is Perfect… Thanks.
this really is a great book! Thanks
its boring and do something horror. i want something modern lik : buffy the vampire slayer,the mirror,buggy man,exorsis and house of the wex . byebye
Thanks Molly, Perfect Work.
excellent written molly my congrats to Dan also.
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dm-p.de
I hate nofollow, Russia forward
Thanks Molly, Perfect Work
Good Site !
I don’t own this book yet, but each day I want to get it more. It’s one book that I know will fit quite well on my shelves.
I was a scout in my adolescent years. However, I found the paramilitary undertone a bit too pronounced for my liking, so I dropped out.
But I think the scouting organisation, like any other organisation, would benefit a great deal by using FOSS.
However, I do not think that scouting should be a frontman for FOSS. The level of ‘freedom’ in ‘free software’ runs counter to their conformist philosophy.
Somebody should really fix the grammer of this article.
Could yo be so kind an try to remove all the offtopic and spam posts please?
It’s not who was the developer, it’s whether he respects your freedom that matters. If you want to live in freedom, you’ve got to reject software that tramples your freedom. You shouldn’t stand for software that keeps you helpless or forbids helping others. When a program is free software, that means you and others can see what it does. So you can listen to other people in the community who have studied it and used it and thus decide whether you want to use it. If you really are concerned about what the program does, you can read the code yourself.
Very nice:) good page
The “next big thing” in media will not happen on TV – or at least not primarily on TV. It will happen on or through the
this really is a great book! Thanks
I wanted an easy way to show people the comparison and consequences of various methods – why something may work better over another, instead of just saying it should.”