Larsen - Beginning HTML and CSS

Beginning HTML & CSS

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Copyright 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

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ISBN: 978-1-118-34018-9

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ISBN: 978-1-118-41651-8 (ebk)

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For Jo & Ingmar. Ill take good care of Jude.

Rob Larsen has more than 13 years of experience as a front-end engineer and team lead, building websites and applications for some of the worlds biggest brands.

He is an active writer and speaker on web technology with a special focus on emerging standards like HTML5, CSS3, and the ongoing evolution of the JavaScript programming language. He is co-author of Professional jQuery (Wrox). Hes also active in the open source community, helping to bridge the gap between the front lines of web development and the people actively working on the tools that drive the web.

In his career Rob has spent time at Sapient Global Markets, Isobar, The Brand Experience, and Cramer and as an independent consultant. Over the years, he has solved unique problems for clients such as Samsung, Adidas, Motorola, Philips, Reebok, Gillette, Bostons Museum of Science, and Harvard Kennedy School.

(Photo by Ricardo Salema: www.ricardosalema.com )

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Cover Image

Aliaksandr Zabudzko/iStockphoto

Id like to thank Carol Long and the rest of the folks at Wiley for giving me this opportunity. Without it, I probably would have spent half the summer playing video games.

I have to thank Katherine Burt a million times over for her patience and assistance in getting this slow-to-start monster up to speed.

Dan Maharrys technical insight has been invaluableteaching me a thing or two every chapter and asking the right questions throughout the process. Its a much better book for his involvement.

At the pace I wrote some of this Id be nuts not to thank our copy editor, San Dee Phillips. I should have apologized in advance.

Id also like to thank Lynn Haller from Studio B for her ongoing help in navigating the business side of book writing.

Ive got to give a big shout-out to John Duckettstanding on the shoulders of giants and all that.

As always, I want to thank all the great front-end engineers Ive worked with at Cramer, Isobar, and Sapient for pushing me to be a better programmer, manager, and colleague.

Finally, Id like to thank my wife for her support and understanding throughout this process. I couldnt have done it without her.

There are a lot of books about building web pages, so thank you for picking up this one. Ive spent the last 13 years building websites, so hopefully Ive picked up a thing or two that I can share with you to make your purchase worthwhile.

If youre just starting out with building web pages, youve picked a great time to get started. The way web pages are built is changing right now in a big way. While the same basic technologies weve used for the last 1520 years are still in place, there are new versions available that have people like me very excited for the future of the web.

This book presents a practical introduction to the process of making websites using a blend of the latest and greatest techniques, as well as a healthy understanding of some older technologies that have been around for a while. The techniques described in this book are informed by having solved real-world problems; so, although it has an eye toward the future its grounded in the act of making websites today.