What Every Web Developer Should Know - The Basics
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A few pointers to the 'must knows' of web development.
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The Internet
is a global network of networks connecting millions of
users worldwide via many computer networks using a simple standard
common addressing system and communications protocol called TCP/IP.
Clearly,
the web is supported by the Internet,
and you should have a working knowledge of topics such as
domain names,
protocols,
legal issues (e.g. copyright),
security and privacy, etc.
There are several languages
that can be used to create a web site.
The underlying foundation which binds web pages together is
Hypertext Markup Language
- the fundamental building stuff of the web.
It is a non-proprietary format, based upon
SGML,
for describing the structure of hypermedia documents -
plain text (ASCII) files with embedded codes for logical markup,
using tags like <A> and </A>
to structure text into
tables,
hypertext links
interactive forms,
headings, paragraphs, lists,
and more.
Be aware of
HTML validation.
Isn't that what the anal-retentive nerds in the
ciwah newsgroup do ?
I check my pages in the two main browsers, isn't that enough ?
True enough to a first approximation, but if you want to claim HTML
expertise, you really ought to know how to put up a standards-conformant
web page, even if you don't care to do it as a matter of course
(IMHO :).
I would especially recommend that you familiarise yourself with
version 4 - although not currently
fully supported by the major browsers, enough is to be useful, and this
version, coupled with cascading style sheets (CSS) extends the power
of HTML to a significant new level.
HTML 4.0
is the latest (draft) standard, moderately supported by the major
browsers.
HyperText Markup Language is the fundamental building stuff of the web.
While not yet well-supported by the major browsers, CSS is nevertheless
usable at this time, and is an important step towards separating
content and presentation.
Style Sheets allow you to control the rendering, e.g. fonts,
colors, leading, margins, typefaces, and other aspects of style,
of a Web document without compromising its structure. CSS is a simple
style sheet mechanism that allows authors and readers to attach style
to HTML documents. It also enables some features not offered
by HTML, such as removing link underlining.
Graphics add spice and style to web pages, and can help your
visitors visualise what your site is about and how it's structured.
You can spice up your pages with tasteful
backgrounds,
or
3d graphics,
using
tools such as
Adobe Photoshop and
Paint Shop Pro.
For many people, Web Design = Graphics.
I don't subscribe to that religion, but agree that almost all web sites
benefit from well-planned images - especially if they are fast-loading,
and the site still remains usable if the graphics are ignored, e.g.
by text-only browsers etc.
As alluded to above - there's more to web site design than visual
presentation. Many of the best-looking sites are all but unusable
because other issues, such as accessibility and navigability weren't
given due weight in the design process.
Design is a word that tends to get overloaded with specific, personal
perspectives - what it means to three different people may well be
three different things. If you were to ask a graphics artist, a
programmer, and a librarian to each design a web site, I think you
would get three very different results. But I think you would only get
the very best results if you could persuade them to build it together.
What Every Web Developer Should Know
What Every Web Developer Should Know - Specialities
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