HTML5 books overview
I have recently realized I should catch up a bit with some modern web technologies. Since I first learned HTML long before modern browsers and devices era, I started to suspect that few things I did can today be done more simply, faster and with much less effort. HTML5 is a catchy phrase now, so I decided to start by learning something new in this direction. This article is a short review of few HTML5 books I used to gain some knowledge on the subject.
HTML5 logo
What I was looking for was a book, that targets rather advanced users (with few years of HTML experience), focuses only on new aspects of HTML5 and covers some changes in CSS3 as well. Here are the three books I tried:
Stepping into HTML world
Cover of HTML5 Step by Step
I must admit I like Microsoft Press’ books, for their clean structure, easy language, and covering important parts of the subject. So was this one, but it didn’t really meet my specific criteria – it was targeted rather for people new in HTML than those who want to refresh and update their knowledge.
Enough to say, it starts with basics like opening Notepad and Expression Web. New CSS3 selectors are not covered, actually only the most basic CSS is presented. New HTML tags were listed, but their description was too laconic I think – semantic meaning of new tags need some more explanation to really understand how to use it
The positive sides is there is a bit of JavaScript, the book also mentions jQuery and how it’s used. The focus on HTML5 was on features already available in browsers rather than experimantal ones. Beside the HTML, there are some more information that might be of use for new web developers, like the image file formats overview. It also has interesting appendices on Usability and Accessibility.
I would not recommend this book to advanced web developers, because they most likely know most of those things already. Those new to HTML5 might begin with it, but might want to complete this knowledge with other sources later.
Smashing Wiley’s book
Cover of Smashing HTML5
This one also turned out to be tutorial describing basic HTML usage. Unfortunately, the book’s structure is far from what Microsoft Press’ book presented, I’d rather say it’s a bit disordered. Topics included are HTML, CSS, but also PHP configuration or chapter about colors.
Chapter on CSS only shows basic selectors (by #ID and .class), and later on some pseudoclasses from CSS2 appear, but no CSS3 at all!
The book has over 340 pages, but the seems prolix. One can fit much more useful information in such a number of pages. I can’t personally recommend it – advanced developers won’t find almost anything new, and new ones might get bored before they create their first page.
Inside the HTML5 World
HTML5 Herald
This Sitepoint’s book is absolutely perfect when it comes to what I was looking for.
It begins with stating how HTML5 differs from the previous standards and what is the philosophy behind it. Semantic tags are then thoroughly described, with some good examples what is the proper way to use them and what isn’t. Further chapters cover the subject of Forms and Media content. All this is backed up with annotations about browser’s current capabilities, and ideas how can the features be implemented for browsers with no support for new tags (e.g. many JS libraries are listed).
Then there are great chapters about doing things the CSS3 way. New selectors are presented, there are examples showing transformations and animations, the subject of custom fonts on webpage is also well described, with pros and cons listed of each approach.
The book would be already interesting if it ended here, but then there there is much more. Next chapter is a description of JS API’s like Geolocation, Offline Apps, Web Storage. Then the book covers the subject of HTML5 Canvas and SVG, and drag & drop, while appendices mention accessibility, microformats and JS Modernizr library.
And all this in simple and witty 320 pages. For me it’s a five-star 😉