Xhtml 1.0 Web Development Sourcebook: Building Better Sites and Applications

by Graham, Ian S.

• ISBN13: 9780471374862
• ISBN10: 0471374865
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Summary

A hands-on guide to planning, designing, and implementing better Web sites and applications using XHTML. This sourcebook gets both novices and experienced Web developers and programmers quickly up to speed on the latest technologies, tools, and approaches for building Web sites and applications. In particular, it explores how XHTML 1.0's powerful new features allow for more flexible, scalable Web sites and business-critical Web apps that can be viewed from an array of devices besides PCs, including TVs, palmtops, and cell phones. Expert Ian Graham starts out with a concise, yet thorough, review/tutorial of the basics for markup, formatting, rendering, and document scripting with HTML, XHTML, XML, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Then, writing from the perspective of both Web developers and Web project managers, and with the help of dozens of illustrated, real-life examples, he: * Explains the relationships between XML, XHTML, HTML, CSS, and other Web technologies * Acquaints you with all of XHTML's powerful new features * Explores the practice of elegant, reusable document design * Schools you in the principles of good Web site and Web application design * Presents several site and application-building models * Provides management guidelines for site design, implementation, and maintenance * Reviews Internet networking basics, URLs, and the HTTP protocol * Shows how to customize Web servers with CGI scripts, page scripting tools, and more * Offers selection criteria for choosing Web development tools and software The companion Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/graham features all the examples presented in the book, along with additional resources, utilities, and book updates-all available in easy-to-download form. Visit our Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/ Visit the companion Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/graham and the author's Web site at www.utoronto.ca/ian/books

Author Biography

Ian S. Graham is a Web application development consultant and also a senior instructional technology specialist with the University of Toronto's Centre for Academic Technology, where he designs and prototypes Internet applications.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
Preface: Introduction and Book Outline	xv
Markup and Layout Review: HTML and CSS	1	(16)
The HyperText Markup Language	2	(4)
Syntax and Structured Markup	5	(1)
Parsable Documents	5	(1)
The HTML Processor	6	(4)
Page Rendering	7	(2)
Processed and Interactive Markup	9	(1)
Advanced Rendering Model	10	(4)
CSS: Cascading Style Sheets	12	(2)
Advanced Page Processing Model	14	(1)
References	14	(3)
XML: The eXtensible Markup Language	17	(28)
A Brief History of HTML	18	(6)
The Birth of XML	21	(3)
The Many XML Languages	24	(8)
XHTML: A Reworking of HTML	25	(3)
XML Namespaces	28	(1)
Mixing XML Languages Together	29	(2)
Distributing XML over the Web	31	(1)
Nonbrowser Uses for XML	32	(2)
Browsers and XML Rendering	34	(7)
Current Browsers and XML	36	(5)
XML in Mozilla/Navigator 6	41	(1)
References	41	(4)
Software Processing of XML and HTML	45	(42)
Parsing XML Data	46	(18)
SAX: A Simple API for XML	49	(5)
Document Object Model (DOM) for XML	54	(10)
XSLT for Transforming XML	64	(6)
A Simple XSLT Example	65	(4)
XSLT Strengths and Weaknesses	69	(1)
Processing HTML Data	70	(2)
Processing HTML on Browsers	72	(11)
Dynamic HTML and the DOM	74	(4)
XML Mixed with HTML	78	(5)
References	83	(4)
Technical Web Page Design	87	(58)
Page Design and Project Management	89	(4)
The Testing Environment	92	(1)
Managing Rendering Speed	93	(15)
Optimized Markup and Layout	94	(1)
Use Optimized, Reusable Images	95	(5)
Break Documents into Components	100	(5)
Page Size Reduction and Compression	105	(3)
Script Optimization	108	(1)
Browser Version Support	108	(16)
Browsers and CSS	110	(8)
Browser Scripting Support	118	(3)
Supporting Nonstandard Browsers	121	(3)
Page Accessibility	124	(6)
User-Adjustable Font Sizes	125	(1)
Appropriate Use of Color and Contrast	126	(1)
Text Alternatives for Images	126	(1)
Tabindex: For Keyboard Navigation	127	(1)
Accessible Screen-Readable Layout	127	(2)
Other Quick Tips	129	(1)
Aural Style Sheets	129	(1)
Printable Page Designs	130	(1)
Print Media Style Sheets	130	(1)
Component-Based Design	131	(9)
Design of Page Components	135	(4)
Integrating and Reusing Content	139	(1)
References	140	(5)
Web Site Architecture and Design	145	(38)
Models for Web Multimedia	146	(6)
Linear Documents	147	(1)
Nonlinear Media	148	(2)
The Web as Hypertext/Multimedia	150	(2)
Models for Web Design	152	(22)
Linear Collections	152	(4)
Hierarchical Collections	156	(6)
Sites as Collections of Collections	162	(2)
Themes in Site Design	164	(8)
Page and Site Design Tips	172	(2)
Technical Issues in Site Architecture	174	(4)
Searching a Site: The Site Index	174	(1)
Dynamic Content and User Tracking	175	(3)
Thematic Issues in Site Architecture	178	(3)
Continuity: Never Move Existing Pages	178	(1)
Navigability: Never Return Dead-End Pages	179	(1)
Navigability: Make Information Easy to Find	179	(1)
Containment: Retain Site Visitors	180	(1)
Community: Solicit User Feedback	180	(1)
Community: Design for Users, not Managers	180	(1)
Annotated References and Bibliography	181	(2)
Web Site/Application Design and Management	183	(32)
Understanding/Defining the Project	185	(2)
Preliminary Goals and Timelines	186	(1)
Researching the Project	187	(7)
Competitive Survey	187	(1)
Define Site Requirements	188	(5)
Locating Required Content	193	(1)
Roughing Out/Brainstorming the Design	194	(3)
Prototyping the Design	197	(4)
Test Page Layout and Design	197	(1)
Verifying Usability and Navigational Model	198	(1)
Testing Critical Software	199	(1)
Refining and Extending Requirements	200	(1)
Design, Implementation, and Testing	201	(5)
Assigning Roles, Responsibilities, and Timelines	201	(1)
Before You Implement	202	(4)
Phased Implementation	206	(1)
Deployment, Maintenance, and Management	206	(3)
Ongoing Maintenance Policies	207	(1)
Evaluation and Feedback	208	(1)
References	209	(6)
Internet Networking	215	(30)
IP: The Core Internet Protocol	216	(7)
Numeric IP Addresses	218	(2)
IP Transport Mechanisms: TCP and UDP	220	(3)
Internet Services	223	(10)
Services and Port Numbers	224	(1)
Basic Service: DNS	225	(8)
Network Issues	233	(10)
Routers, Hubs, and Gateways	233	(1)
Network Security	234	(6)
Connecting through a Firewall: IP Masquerading	240	(2)
Multiple Web Servers	242	(1)
References	243	(2)
Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)	245	(58)
URL Overview and Syntax Rules	246	(18)
Usernames and Passwords in URLs	249	(1)
The location Portion of a URL	249	(2)
Allowed Characters in URLs	251	(3)
Encoding Non-ASCII Characters in URLs	254	(8)
Relative URLs	262	(2)
URL Specifications	264	(33)
Castanet URLs (Navigator 4 Only)	266	(1)
Cid URLs	266	(1)
Data URLs	267	(1)
File URLs	268	(1)
Ftp URLs	269	(3)
Gopher URLs	272	(2)
Http URLs	274	(5)
Https URLs---Secure HTTP	279	(1)
IMAP URLs	280	(1)
Lav URLs	280	(1)
Lavs URLs---Secure Lav	281	(1)
LDAP URLs	281	(1)
LDAPS URLs---Secure LDAP	281	(1)
Mailto URLs	282	(2)
Mid URLs	284	(1)
Mms URLs	284	(1)
News URLs	285	(1)
Pop3 URLs	286	(1)
Snews URLs---Secure News	286	(1)
Nntp URLs	287	(1)
Prospero URLs	287	(1)
Rtsp and Rtspu URLs	288	(1)
Telnet URLs	288	(1)
Wais URLs	289	(1)
Special Class ID URLs: Clsid, Java, and Javabean	290	(2)
Pseudo-URLs: About, Javascript, and Others	292	(5)
Coming Attractions	297	(1)
Naming Schemes for the Web	297	(2)
Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)	297	(1)
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)	298	(1)
Uniform Resource Names (URN)	298	(1)
Uniform Resource Citation [URC (Obsolete)]	298	(1)
References	299	(4)
The HTTP Protocol	303	(70)
HTTP 1.0 Protocol Overview	304	(6)
Illustration: Single Transaction per Connection	306	(1)
Illustration: Stateless Transactions	306	(1)
HTTP 1.0 Extension: HTTP Keep-Alive	307	(1)
Example Client-Server Sessions	308	(2)
Overview of Examples	310	(1)
A Simple GET Method Request	310	(11)
The Client Request Header	311	(4)
Additional Request Fields: Accept-Charset, Accept-Encoding, and Accept-Language	315	(2)
The Servier Response: Header and Data	317	(4)
Linking to Another Document	321	(1)
Linking to an Already-Retrieved File	322	(4)
Browsers and Browser Cache Verification	325	(1)
Disabling Resource Caching on a Browser	325	(1)
Requesting a Moved Resource	326	(3)
Temporarily Moved Resources	327	(2)
HEAD Method: Information about a Resource	329	(1)
Sending Data to a Server Using GET	330	(5)
Sending Data to a Server Using POST (1)	335	(1)
Sending Data to a Server Using POST (2)	336	(4)
Managing Data on a Server: PUT and DELETE	340	(3)
Cookies and Cookie Data	343	(4)
Putting a Cookie on the Browser	343	(2)
Returning Cookies to Server	345	(1)
Example Cookie Transactions	345	(1)
Browsers and Cookie Management	346	(1)
Access Control and User Authentication	347	(7)
The Basic Authentication Scheme	348	(4)
The Digest Authentication Scheme	352	(2)
Proxy Servers and Server Caching	354	(5)
Configuring a Browser	356	(1)
Example Proxy Transactions	357	(2)
Other Common Status Messages	359	(5)
Successful Transaction Status Responses	359	(1)
Diagnosable Problem Status Responses	360	(2)
Server-Centric Error Responses	362	(2)
Client-Server Data Encryption	364	(1)
Netscape's Secure Sockets Layer	364	(1)
HTTP Content Negotiation	365	(2)
Content Negotiation and Proxy Servers	367	(1)
HTTP 1.1 and Extensions	367	(1)
Time and Data Format Specifications	368	(1)
Other Time and Date Formats	369	(1)
References	369	(4)
Data Processing on an HTTP Server	373	(38)
Communication with Gateway Programs	376	(2)
Client Sends to Server (HTTP)	376	(1)
Server Sends to Gateway (CGI)	377	(1)
Gateway Sends to Server (CGI)	377	(1)
Simple Example: Isindex Searches	378	(5)
Detecting Isindex Queries	380	(1)
Step 1: Initial Access of the Program	380	(1)
Step 2: Second Access of the Program	381	(2)
Gateway Program Server Directives	383	(4)
Server Directives	384	(1)
Nonparsed Header Gateway Programs	385	(1)
Custom Fields: Content-Disposition	386	(1)
Environment Variables	387	(7)
Standard Environment Variables	391	(1)
Request Header-Based Environment Variables	391	(2)
Extended/Custom Environment Variables	393	(1)
HTML Forms via a GET Request	394	(3)
HTML Forms via a POST Request	397	(5)
Relative Advantages of GET and POST	400	(1)
Encoding of Data in a Form	400	(2)
State Preservation in CGI Transactions	402	(3)
State Preservation Using Hidden Input Elements	403	(1)
State Preservation Using URL Data	404	(1)
State Preservation Using Cookies	404	(1)
Gateway Program Alternatives	405	(4)
Server Application Programming Interfaces	407	(1)
Java Servlets	408	(1)
Parsed HTML Documents	408	(1)
References	409	(2)
CGI Programming Examples and Parsed HTML	411	(26)
CGI Examples	412	(12)
A Page Hit Counter	412	(3)
CGI Animation Techniques	415	(9)
CGI Programming Issues	424	(1)
CGI Security Issues	425	(2)
Designing Safe Gateway Programs	425	(1)
CGI Security Wrappers	426	(1)
CGI Programming Libraries	427	(2)
Server-Side Includes	429	(4)
SSI Command Syntax	430	(1)
A Simple Server-Side Include Example	431	(1)
SSI for Inserting Random HTML Fragments	431	(2)
References	433	(4)
Web Application Development Tools	437	(22)
Site Management Tools	438	(8)
Markup Validation	439	(1)
Link Checking and Analysis	440	(1)
Site Log and Usage Analysis	441	(1)
Site Performance Monitoring	442	(2)
Site Load Balancing and Distribution	444	(1)
Web Site Backup	445	(1)
Content Management Systems	446	(4)
E-Commerce Sites	449	(1)
Page Scripting Environments	450	(4)
WebMacro	453	(1)
Web Application Servers	454	(5)
Avoiding Web Application Servers	456	(3)
Index	459