The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks

Author: Rachel Andrew
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: SitePoint; 3rd edition (July 28, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0980576806
ISBN-13: 978-0980576801

I previously reviewed the 2nd edition of this book, so I was interested in what was changed and/or added in its current incarnation. Of course, the release of Firefox 3 and IE 8 are enough to warrant an updating of "tips and tricks" relative to CSS and web design, but was there more? The back cover blurb didn't indicate such, but I looked further.

The Preface seemed a likely place to start. There is no What has changed in this book section. The What's Covered in this Book? portion is a detailed summary of the TOC, but doesn't mention how chapters here compare to those in the prior edition. The Who Should Read this Book? piece is as you might expect: aimed at people who need to use CSS, such as designers and developers, and who don't need a lot of hand holding. Sorry if that sounds "snarky", but this book has always been about getting up to speed fast and dispensing with high level explanations and theory.

Chapter 1 is actually a quick tutorial on CSS, if you need a bit of a refresher. That shouldn't really include the main audience for this book, but there will be people who buy Andrew's text who might benefit. Chapter 2 also tends towards "the basics" as the title indicates: Text Styling and Other Basics. Fortunately, this chapter is also the start of the "anthology" content of the book, offering information formatted as Question, Solution, and Discussion. The Discussion part of each "tip" is certainly the largest, containing information on any specifics, curve-balls, and gotchas that may be contained in the particular technique involved.

Chapters are organized into functions such as Navigation, Tabular Data, Forms and User Interfaces, and so on, so if you have an area of interest or need, just shoot right to the relevant chapter, and then find the required task. Chapter 6 is the "Forms" chapter, but is really only half the story. Yes, it covers the browser end of forms, but of course, they won't really work unless you have the server side configured as well (think PHP, for instance). In that sense, the chapter and the book operate as one piece in the larger puzzle of web design and development. It's also a reference by design, so don't imagine that it's the first book you'll need to learn CSS.

I was mainly interested in Chapter 7: Cross-browser Techniques, since that's the primary reason for issuing another edition of this book. Designing websites for different platforms requires the designer to think in very broad terms, depending on the designer's audience. You have to address the most widely used browsers (unless you're serving a niche market), plus consider both PC/Mac, and mobile device platforms, if you care about that sort of thing. A common newbie designer mistake, is to create a site and test it on only one browser (and only one version of that browser), and only one OS. I've created what I thought of as a beautiful site when viewed in Firefox on Linux, but that turned out to be a "problem child" when I looked at it in IE 7 on XP. Andrew includes a nice little table on page 220, outlining the various browser and OS platforms to consider, including Safari, Chrome, and Konqueror, so a lot of thought has been given to this matter.

Chapter 7 is the "testing" chapter, instructing the reader on the options for being able to view their creations on Windows, Linux, and Mac (Linux live CDs, dual booting options, and so on). We are all some kind of "user". I tend to be a Linux user, but my wife exclusively uses Windows, and my daughter tends towards Mac. Developers have preferences as well, but letting those preferences dictate how you design and test can be a critical mistake, especially if you're doing this for money, and your company wants your product to work equally well for all customers.

I've read bad reviews on the previous edition of this book but, in my opinion, it was the reviewers who made the mistake. Their basic assumption was that they could learn CSS, more or less from scratch, by reading Andrew's text. This is not the intent of this book. If you know little or nothing about web design in general, and CSS in particular, acquire those skill sets first. This book is intended to help the reader solve specific problems, relative to the latest OS, browser, and hardware platforms, not to be a general introduction to the topic.

SitePoint offers a couple of forums to support the book, which is great, since I sometimes have questions about content that I can't get answered any other way. I did find the pop-ups on the forums rather annoying, though. Nice that you want to market your books, SitePoint, but if I'm on your site, I'm already aware of them and interested. Don't kill the "magic" by being too commercial.

If previous reviews of a book are good (as is the case with this book), then usually (unless the publisher or author decided to completely throw a monkey wrench into the machine) subsequent editions will maintain the quality. Fortunately for SitePoint and Andrew, the 3rd edition is up to snuff. If you fit the audience profile, and need to update your CSS skills for the most current browsers and so forth, The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks should be on your wish list.

Review: The Principles of Successful Freelancing

Author: Miles Burke Format: Paperback, 200 pages Publisher: SitePoint; illustrated edition (December 28, 2008) ISBN-10: 0980455243 ISBN-13: 978-0980455243 When I think of SitePoint, I think about books on topics such as HTML, CSS, and various programming languages. I also reviewed a SitePoint book on project management, so I know they can step outside of that "sphere" on occasion. On the other hand, what does a book on freelancing have to do with the technical subjects normally put out by this publisher? I was a tad surprised to find out that Toby Somerville, one of this book's technical editors, has been "a web applications architect and a freelance web developer". Maybe this book isn't as "generic" as it sounds. Author Miles Burke has been a web designer for over a decade and created his own web company a few years back. Perhaps, with the background of some of the "players" being what it is, the book will focus on freelancing relative to web design and development, rather than for other fields. I suppose I should take a step back from this review and explain that, for a number of years, I worked as a freelance technical writer, author, and editor. It wasn't entirely by choice, since people in my field don't often find "in-house" jobs that pay a salary with benefits, but you take the work that you're offered. That said, now that I have a "day job" that I'm well satisfied with, I continue to pursue other projects, both to develop multiple income streams and to maintain my professional flexibility. I should be well suited to review Burke's text. According to the blurb in the front matter, this book was written for people who want to freelance and like it. The target audience includes someone currently in a "day job" who wants to "be their own boss" (and all the headaches that entails) or someone who has recently graduated and is concerned that getting a job won't be all that easy to do. I know first hand that freelancing isn't an easy lifestyle. Burke's book is intended to address the struggling freelancer and organize their efforts into a career. Another part of the blurb confirmed that Burke wrote his book specifically with web designers and developers in mind, but that the principles should apply to just about any job-type that can be done freelance. Interestingly, the book starts out with a definition of the term "freelance", complete with references to Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. I would have thought if a history lesson was in order, it would be about the modern development of the freelance career model. The Ivanhoe "medieval mercenary" reference was OK, though. Kind of makes the freelancer feel like a "Ronin" in feudal Japan (notice my tongue is now firmly in my cheek). The book reminded me somewhat of the SitePoint Project Management book I mentioned before. Essentially, although the book's content can be applied to all freelance careers, the thrust of the book examines applying the freelance "principle" in a technical context. Another way to look at it is, the book is most aimed at the technical person who wants to apply their skill sets to the role of freelancer. The project management book was very similar, with the technical person having an eye on the role of project manager. With all that in mind, it's appropriate for this text to be reviewed and presented in various technical venues such as this blog, but for those of you who don't know HTML from CSS, you can still get plenty out of what's being presented. Burke does dig into his own experiences and references the company he founded by example, so he isn't speaking just "in theory". There are also "case studies" at the end of each chapter, citing real world examples of freelancers. The real value I see in this book is that it organizes the topics a freelancer has to consider and act upon to build such a career path. It's not that it would be impossible to come up with the same information on your own after doing your research, it's just that Burke puts a large amount of the research results between this book's covers. You'll still need to do more work developing a plan that relates to your specific skills, goals, and career field. This book can't be all things to all freelancers. It can just give you a leg up, so to speak, as to what you are facing and how to deal with those issues. Another advantage this book presents is as a way to help the reader decide if freelancing is for him or her. Some people, especially after a bad day at the office, might overly romanticize the idea of "being your own boss" (think of the "Ronin" analogy I used before). It sounds really appealing after you've been "chewed a new one" by your manager over one thing or another. Burke's book brings it down to Earth and lays out the nuts and bolts of what freelancing takes. Freelancing's not for everyone. For the cost of this book though, you can get enough practical advice to help you decide if you want to pursue a freelance career or part-time freelance gig. You don't have to step into it blind. While Burke's book is good, I don't think it can take the place of doing a lot of the footwork yourself. You're still going to have to see what the demand is for your skill sets in the freelance market in your area, determine the specifics of where you need to pump up your training, and do the rest of the analysis that will tell you if what you have to offer is significantly valued in your environment. You'll need to perform that work to see if what you've got will pay off for you as a freelancer. Of course, this book will give you some very good places to start, and a foundation on which to build your data and your conclusions. Be glad Miles Burke wrote this book. It'll save you some steps.