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HTML5: Up and Running: Dive into the Future of Web Development
If you don't know about the new features available in HTML5, now's the time to find out. The latest version of this markup language is going to significantly change the way you develop web applications, and this book provides your first real look at HTML5's new elements and attributes. Even though work on HTML5 is ongoing, browsers such as Safari, Mozilla, Opera, and Chrome already support many of its features -- and browsers for smart phones are even farther ahead, especially iPhone's MobileSafari browser. With Up & Running , you'll learn how this new version enables browsers to interact with JavaScript much more easily than before. You'll also learn how HTML5 can help you develop applications This concise guide is the most complete and authoritative book you'll find on the subject. Author Mark Pilgrim writes the weekly digest for the HTML5 Working Group, and represents Google at conferences on HTML5's capabilities. Stay ahead of the curve. Order a copy of this book today. Five Things You Should Know About HTML5
by Mark Pilgrim
1. It’s not one big thing . You may well “How can I start using HTML5 if older browsers don’t support it?” But the question itself is misleading. HTML5 is not one big thing; it is a collection of individual features. So you can’t detect “HTML5 support,” because that doesn’t make any sense. But you can detect support for individual features, like canvas, video, or geolocation.
You may think of HTML as tags and angle brackets. That’s an important part of it, but it’s not the whole story. The HTML5 specification also defines how those angle brackets interact with JavaScript, through the Document Object Model (DOM). HTML5 doesn’t just define video tag; there is also a corresponding DOM API for video objects in the DOM. You can use this API to detect support for different video formats, play a video, pause, mute audio, track how much of the video has been downloaded, and everything else you need to build a rich user experience around the video tag itself.
Chapter 2 and Appendix A will teach you how to properly detect support for each new HTML5 feature.
2. You don’t need to throw anything away. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that HTML 4 is the most successful markup format ever. HTML5 builds on that success. You don’t need to throw away your existing markup. You don’t need to relearn things you already know. If your web application worked yesterday in HTML 4, it will still work today in HTML5. Period.
Now, if you want to improve your web applications, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a concrete HTML5 supports all the form controls from HTML 4, but it also includes new input controls. Some of these are long-overdue additions like sliders and date pickers; others are more subtle. For example, the email input type looks just like a text box, but mobile browsers will customize their onscreen keyboard to make it easier to type email addresses. Older browsers that don’t support the email input type will treat it as a regular text field, and the form still works with no markup changes or scripting hacks. This means you can start improving your web forms today, even if some of your visitors are stuck on IE 6.
Read all the gory details about HTML5 forms in Chapter 9.
3. It’s easy to get started . “Upgrading” to HTML5 can be as simple as changing your doctype. The doctype should already be on the first line of every HTML page. Previous versions of HTML defined a lot of doctypes, and choosing the right one could be tricky. In HTML5, there is only one !DOCTYPE html
Upgrading to the HTML5 doctype won’t break your existing markup, because all the tags defined in HTML 4 are still supported in HTML5. But it will allow you to use -- and validate -- new semantic elements like article, section, header, and footer. You’ll learn all about these new elements in Chapter 3.
4. It already works Whether you want to draw on a canvas, play video, design better forms, or build web applications that work offline, you’ll find that HTML5 is already well-supported. Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, and mobile browsers already support canvas (Chapter 4), video (Chapter 5), geolocation (Chapter 6), local storage (Chapter 7), and more. Google already supports microdata annotations (Chapter 10). Even Microsoft -- rarely known for blazing the trail of standards support -- will be supporting most HTML5 features in the upcoming Internet Explorer 9.
Each chapter of this book includes the all-too-familiar browser compatibility charts. But more importantly, each chapter includes a frank discussion of your options if you need to support older browsers. HTML5 features like geolocation (Chapter 6) and video (Chapter 5) were first provided by browser plugins like Gears or Flash. Other features, like canvas (Chapter 4), can be emulated entirely in JavaScript. This book will teach you how to target the native features of modern browsers, without leaving older browsers behind.
...
by Mark Pilgrim
1. It’s not one big thing . You may well “How can I start using HTML5 if older browsers don’t support it?” But the question itself is misleading. HTML5 is not one big thing; it is a collection of individual features. So you can’t detect “HTML5 support,” because that doesn’t make any sense. But you can detect support for individual features, like canvas, video, or geolocation.
You may think of HTML as tags and angle brackets. That’s an important part of it, but it’s not the whole story. The HTML5 specification also defines how those angle brackets interact with JavaScript, through the Document Object Model (DOM). HTML5 doesn’t just define video tag; there is also a corresponding DOM API for video objects in the DOM. You can use this API to detect support for different video formats, play a video, pause, mute audio, track how much of the video has been downloaded, and everything else you need to build a rich user experience around the video tag itself.
Chapter 2 and Appendix A will teach you how to properly detect support for each new HTML5 feature.
2. You don’t need to throw anything away. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that HTML 4 is the most successful markup format ever. HTML5 builds on that success. You don’t need to throw away your existing markup. You don’t need to relearn things you already know. If your web application worked yesterday in HTML 4, it will still work today in HTML5. Period.
Now, if you want to improve your web applications, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a concrete HTML5 supports all the form controls from HTML 4, but it also includes new input controls. Some of these are long-overdue additions like sliders and date pickers; others are more subtle. For example, the email input type looks just like a text box, but mobile browsers will customize their onscreen keyboard to make it easier to type email addresses. Older browsers that don’t support the email input type will treat it as a regular text field, and the form still works with no markup changes or scripting hacks. This means you can start improving your web forms today, even if some of your visitors are stuck on IE 6.
Read all the gory details about HTML5 forms in Chapter 9.
3. It’s easy to get started . “Upgrading” to HTML5 can be as simple as changing your doctype. The doctype should already be on the first line of every HTML page. Previous versions of HTML defined a lot of doctypes, and choosing the right one could be tricky. In HTML5, there is only one !DOCTYPE html
Upgrading to the HTML5 doctype won’t break your existing markup, because all the tags defined in HTML 4 are still supported in HTML5. But it will allow you to use -- and validate -- new semantic elements like article, section, header, and footer. You’ll learn all about these new elements in Chapter 3.
4. It already works Whether you want to draw on a canvas, play video, design better forms, or build web applications that work offline, you’ll find that HTML5 is already well-supported. Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, and mobile browsers already support canvas (Chapter 4), video (Chapter 5), geolocation (Chapter 6), local storage (Chapter 7), and more. Google already supports microdata annotations (Chapter 10). Even Microsoft -- rarely known for blazing the trail of standards support -- will be supporting most HTML5 features in the upcoming Internet Explorer 9.
Each chapter of this book includes the all-too-familiar browser compatibility charts. But more importantly, each chapter includes a frank discussion of your options if you need to support older browsers. HTML5 features like geolocation (Chapter 6) and video (Chapter 5) were first provided by browser plugins like Gears or Flash. Other features, like canvas (Chapter 4), can be emulated entirely in JavaScript. This book will teach you how to target the native features of modern browsers, without leaving older browsers behind.
...
207 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2010
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November 22, 2019Reading this book was a slight deception, not because of the content, but MAINLY because it's a bit messy. The chapters don't correlate with each other very well and the content is not as well organized as I was expecting. Aside from that, I believe I learned something new.
March 18, 2011
Pilgrim's HTML5: Up and Running (H5UaR) is a short book and has a far more conversational tone than I'm used to with O'Reilly technical books. Both aspects are highly appropriate to the nature of the subject.
Pilgrim's greatest strength in H5UaR is acknowledging the sordid history of HTML support, the sordid present, and the no-doubt sordid future. The first chapter is a wonderful (and interesting) bit of history of HTML and MIME Types. I already felt well-versed in the story, but Pilgrim has unearthed some really interesting tidbits which made me feel contemplative and perhaps a little sad.
Chapters 4, 5, and 6 all have chapters titled "What About IE?" which should be taken as a good sign. Building with any web technology is often like erecting buildings upon shifting sands. There are a few bits of bedrock here and there we can count on, but most of the interesting land - the places people want to live on - are out in the dunes. Most browsers just suck, but Internet Explorer blows the sands like that giant storm in the movie "Hildago" we watched just to see what Aragorn of The Lord of the Rings looked like without a beard.
IE is such a Darth Vader of a villain* (complete with Empire-like dominance over the galaxy) to Web developers that to not give it very special consideration in nearly every paragraph of a book like this is to ignore reality to a degree in which all forms of matter are perceived as amorphous cartoon blobs of translucent meta Jell-O. Thankfully, this book does give that consideration.
In addition to giving realistic guidance into the treacherous landscape of cutting-edge HTML, Pilgrim gives compelling arguments for the use of many tags which are not yet supported, but fail gracefully. My only real complaint in this area is that he gives a mind-bogglingly large amount of space to the subject of microdata (albeit, again, with a good supporting argument), a lot of which may never be supported by anything ever.
In conclusion, I will be using selected bits of HTML 5. I really appreciate the level-headed realism and consideration put into this book.
*Netscape 4 was a rotten, sickly thing that deserved to die. But when IE came out of that ring victorious and entered a new world in which it ruled like a king, it didn't handle the success well. It stopped training for the fights. Its muscle turned to fat. It went through a series of failed relationships in which it abused its trophy wives, hoping that something would make it feel good, like it had back in the 3.0 days, the heat of battle. Opera was there, but without market share it was too small, too "indie", IE had no need to fight it. Oh, but it longed for something real. Something substantial to fill the void. Eventually it turned to the bottle. Friends left it. Slowly, its anger turned inward. All the hatred, the unwanted attention, the painful awkwardness at home - all of that compressed into a tight glowing red core of suffering. It got an air freshener in Version 7. Nothing could mask the stench of decay. It was dipped in chocolate in Version 8. Everyone agreed that though it smelled better, there was still something terrible in the meat. It made your eyes water and you couldn't spit that taste out for days. It festers still. IE hates your damned markup and your damned stylesheets. It hates them! It hates them so much!
Pilgrim's greatest strength in H5UaR is acknowledging the sordid history of HTML support, the sordid present, and the no-doubt sordid future. The first chapter is a wonderful (and interesting) bit of history of HTML and MIME Types. I already felt well-versed in the story, but Pilgrim has unearthed some really interesting tidbits which made me feel contemplative and perhaps a little sad.
Chapters 4, 5, and 6 all have chapters titled "What About IE?" which should be taken as a good sign. Building with any web technology is often like erecting buildings upon shifting sands. There are a few bits of bedrock here and there we can count on, but most of the interesting land - the places people want to live on - are out in the dunes. Most browsers just suck, but Internet Explorer blows the sands like that giant storm in the movie "Hildago" we watched just to see what Aragorn of The Lord of the Rings looked like without a beard.
IE is such a Darth Vader of a villain* (complete with Empire-like dominance over the galaxy) to Web developers that to not give it very special consideration in nearly every paragraph of a book like this is to ignore reality to a degree in which all forms of matter are perceived as amorphous cartoon blobs of translucent meta Jell-O. Thankfully, this book does give that consideration.
In addition to giving realistic guidance into the treacherous landscape of cutting-edge HTML, Pilgrim gives compelling arguments for the use of many tags which are not yet supported, but fail gracefully. My only real complaint in this area is that he gives a mind-bogglingly large amount of space to the subject of microdata (albeit, again, with a good supporting argument), a lot of which may never be supported by anything ever.
In conclusion, I will be using selected bits of HTML 5. I really appreciate the level-headed realism and consideration put into this book.
*Netscape 4 was a rotten, sickly thing that deserved to die. But when IE came out of that ring victorious and entered a new world in which it ruled like a king, it didn't handle the success well. It stopped training for the fights. Its muscle turned to fat. It went through a series of failed relationships in which it abused its trophy wives, hoping that something would make it feel good, like it had back in the 3.0 days, the heat of battle. Opera was there, but without market share it was too small, too "indie", IE had no need to fight it. Oh, but it longed for something real. Something substantial to fill the void. Eventually it turned to the bottle. Friends left it. Slowly, its anger turned inward. All the hatred, the unwanted attention, the painful awkwardness at home - all of that compressed into a tight glowing red core of suffering. It got an air freshener in Version 7. Nothing could mask the stench of decay. It was dipped in chocolate in Version 8. Everyone agreed that though it smelled better, there was still something terrible in the meat. It made your eyes water and you couldn't spit that taste out for days. It festers still. IE hates your damned markup and your damned stylesheets. It hates them! It hates them so much!
June 7, 2011
I actually read the free e-book available over at diveintohtml5.org but that's not enough of a real book to qualify on Goodreads, being hosted on the author's website and all.
Great book overall, replete with bits of history and working code. I like that each HTML5 feature was prefaced with a list of supporting browsers and Pilgrim provides a fallback for almost every function. The example sites were pretty useful as well. Very accessible even for those of us with no Javascript knowledge. I think the book would be particularly valuable for people building web apps trying to harness some of the more advanced features of HTML5 (offline storage, geolocation) but even as a low-level, front-end person I was able to take several handy tricks away and immediately upgraded some forms I had written.
Great book overall, replete with bits of history and working code. I like that each HTML5 feature was prefaced with a list of supporting browsers and Pilgrim provides a fallback for almost every function. The example sites were pretty useful as well. Very accessible even for those of us with no Javascript knowledge. I think the book would be particularly valuable for people building web apps trying to harness some of the more advanced features of HTML5 (offline storage, geolocation) but even as a low-level, front-end person I was able to take several handy tricks away and immediately upgraded some forms I had written.
October 17, 2010
“HTML 5 Up and Running” is the print version of the book posted at diveintohtml5.org. It covers the new features in HTML 5 along with which browsers support what (and how to do feature detection.) It's a concise book at 205 pages and sells for just under $20 dollars.
At the moment, the content is current. This may or may not change depending on how faithfully the browsers implement the spec.
I bought the book for two reasons:
1) I read the HTML version in it's entirety and wanted to support the author.
2) I like reading books away from the computer and scribbling it them.
Before buying the book, check out the website and see what you think for yourself. For me, it was buy.
At the moment, the content is current. This may or may not change depending on how faithfully the browsers implement the spec.
I bought the book for two reasons:
1) I read the HTML version in it's entirety and wanted to support the author.
2) I like reading books away from the computer and scribbling it them.
Before buying the book, check out the website and see what you think for yourself. For me, it was buy.
November 8, 2012
This is a concise and effective book meant for more experienced web designers wanting to update their skills to use the power of HTML5. Though concepts are explained, prior knowledge of some HTML is assumed. If you just need to know about new elements and properties, this book fills the bill. I keep it on my tech books shelf in my home office.
July 1, 2019
An introduction to the upcoming features of HTML5 as for 2010.
Despite being published almost 10 years ago, I think this book is still worth reading today. The first chapter about how standardization of the Web works is timeless. Without any doubt, the best chapter of this book.
About the rest of the chapters, they're still valuable but since many years have passed by a considerable amount of the book contents have been outdated. In those cases, my recommendation is to skip or skim those sections, and try to catch up later on your own with whatever is the status of those features today (Canvas, Video, Geolocalization, Microformats, etc). On the other hand, every chapter contains general information which is still valuable.
All in all, it'd be great to have a new "Html5: Up and running" book but with more up-to-date content, written in the same funny and casual style.
Despite being published almost 10 years ago, I think this book is still worth reading today. The first chapter about how standardization of the Web works is timeless. Without any doubt, the best chapter of this book.
About the rest of the chapters, they're still valuable but since many years have passed by a considerable amount of the book contents have been outdated. In those cases, my recommendation is to skip or skim those sections, and try to catch up later on your own with whatever is the status of those features today (Canvas, Video, Geolocalization, Microformats, etc). On the other hand, every chapter contains general information which is still valuable.
All in all, it'd be great to have a new "Html5: Up and running" book but with more up-to-date content, written in the same funny and casual style.
March 18, 2019
Not a chronological book, this book encapsulates the heart of syntax and theory of HTML5, although HTML5 is a bit outdated for building web apps this provides a concise theory on HTML5. The writing style is not unscrutable and viscerally stimulating with the debriefing of the myriad of concepts in HTML5.
June 6, 2019
Up & Running...
April 17, 2012
A how-to manual that explores the new offerings of HTML5.
My Take
Interesting, but I didn't feel that it was getting me up and running!
First, let me say that this is more for an intermediate experienced web designer who already is comfortable with coding in HTML and CSS although if the book was intended for more advanced users, I don't understand why he spent so much time on the history of HTML.
I found the whole book uneven with some of his topics too briefly peeked at while others went into much greater depth. Pilgrim skimmed the new elements introduced with HTML5, and was as unclear as everyone else in the proper use of <section> and <article>. Actually, in some respects, he was worse. There's a very brief mention of Modernizr which could have been left off for all the good it did.
The good parts. Yes, in spite of my whining, there was a chunk of useful information that Pilgrim explained well. I finally grasp how <hgroup> is supposed to be used and I loved his explanation of a codec. It finally makes sense! Yes!!
I enjoyed his discussion of the new tags for forms and, while he did a reasonable job of explaining the tangle of video formats and codecs, it was still a confusing tangle that didn't get untangled until just about the last sentence. I'll stay with YouTube for my videos...eek!
The section on microdata. Well, once I researched Google's Webmaster Tools Help section, Pilgrim's pages finally made more sense.
He spends quite a bit of time explaining the use of <canvas> and a decent amount on videos, Local Storage, and the new offline capabilities (I am so looking forward to implementing this one!), but it's still too far in the future [for me!] to dive into a total dissection of it all.
On the whole, it was interesting, but I'm not sure it's worth the $30.
The Cover
It's your basic O'Reilly publication with a white background. HTML5 is in white with a teal green rectangle with some sort of deer perched on top of the rectangle. I suspect it would be a good guess that the deer is meant to embody the Up and Running portion of the title!
As for the title, yes, it is HTML5, but I would beg to differ as to whether it would get me Up and Running. No, I take that back. It did have me running. Running to do more research…
My Take
Interesting, but I didn't feel that it was getting me up and running!
First, let me say that this is more for an intermediate experienced web designer who already is comfortable with coding in HTML and CSS although if the book was intended for more advanced users, I don't understand why he spent so much time on the history of HTML.
I found the whole book uneven with some of his topics too briefly peeked at while others went into much greater depth. Pilgrim skimmed the new elements introduced with HTML5, and was as unclear as everyone else in the proper use of <section> and <article>. Actually, in some respects, he was worse. There's a very brief mention of Modernizr which could have been left off for all the good it did.
The good parts. Yes, in spite of my whining, there was a chunk of useful information that Pilgrim explained well. I finally grasp how <hgroup> is supposed to be used and I loved his explanation of a codec. It finally makes sense! Yes!!
I enjoyed his discussion of the new tags for forms and, while he did a reasonable job of explaining the tangle of video formats and codecs, it was still a confusing tangle that didn't get untangled until just about the last sentence. I'll stay with YouTube for my videos...eek!
The section on microdata. Well, once I researched Google's Webmaster Tools Help section, Pilgrim's pages finally made more sense.
He spends quite a bit of time explaining the use of <canvas> and a decent amount on videos, Local Storage, and the new offline capabilities (I am so looking forward to implementing this one!), but it's still too far in the future [for me!] to dive into a total dissection of it all.
On the whole, it was interesting, but I'm not sure it's worth the $30.
The Cover
It's your basic O'Reilly publication with a white background. HTML5 is in white with a teal green rectangle with some sort of deer perched on top of the rectangle. I suspect it would be a good guess that the deer is meant to embody the Up and Running portion of the title!
As for the title, yes, it is HTML5, but I would beg to differ as to whether it would get me Up and Running. No, I take that back. It did have me running. Running to do more research…
May 3, 2013
Some time ago I took it upon myself to try to learn, or at least familiarize myself with HTML5. I took out a stack of books from the library, including this one, and resolved to try and read through all of them. Time went by and my desire to learn waned, but I still held onto the hope that I would eventually at least look through them, become somewhat familiar with the concepts, even if I couldn't really write code.
I eventually had to return the books. And then I took one out again! And it still had the library receipt from last time!
So, admittedly, this was not the best choice for an introduction to HTML5. I would have been better off with a "Dummies" book, I suppose, but I've used other O'Reilly books in the past and they've been pretty good to me. This book wasn't bad to me, but it wasn't very good either. It's not even that it was too advanced; the problem was that this book had no idea who its audience was, and what it wanted to be. It starts out pretty basic, basically talking to the reader like they have no idea what "standards" or "codecs" are. But in short order, like maybe around chapter 3, it gives up all pretense of starting from...any kind of beginning, and assumes you've been coding for years and the level of discourse shoots up. The book at this point, is definitely aimed at people who just need some kind of quick primer of the changes in HTML5, or a reference guide. Which is fine, and it's actually pretty well-written: very patient, goes through everything step-by-step, and repeats itself a lot. A LOT. Even if I had absolutely no hope of actually learning to code just by reading it, I do understand a lot more now, and I think I'm ready to find a book that's a little more basic.
I eventually had to return the books. And then I took one out again! And it still had the library receipt from last time!
So, admittedly, this was not the best choice for an introduction to HTML5. I would have been better off with a "Dummies" book, I suppose, but I've used other O'Reilly books in the past and they've been pretty good to me. This book wasn't bad to me, but it wasn't very good either. It's not even that it was too advanced; the problem was that this book had no idea who its audience was, and what it wanted to be. It starts out pretty basic, basically talking to the reader like they have no idea what "standards" or "codecs" are. But in short order, like maybe around chapter 3, it gives up all pretense of starting from...any kind of beginning, and assumes you've been coding for years and the level of discourse shoots up. The book at this point, is definitely aimed at people who just need some kind of quick primer of the changes in HTML5, or a reference guide. Which is fine, and it's actually pretty well-written: very patient, goes through everything step-by-step, and repeats itself a lot. A LOT. Even if I had absolutely no hope of actually learning to code just by reading it, I do understand a lot more now, and I think I'm ready to find a book that's a little more basic.
April 10, 2012
Originally submitted at O'Reilly
This book is a great resource for those who know about HTML5 but want just a little more information. I found the author provided very complete and understandable information on HTML5 features, such as canvas drawing, mutimedia support, geolocation, offline data storage and microdata. I appreciated his first chapter dedicated to the thought process behind HTML, giving some insight of what thought goes into adding standards that usually goes unnoticed. I am also grateful that the ease of adding backward compatibility was also strongly addressed in this book, so hopefully it will encourage developers to refresh their web content. Finally, I most appreciated the microdata section of the book. Although the concept is simple enough, I think this chapter gives the reader a taste of why it's important and useful to add microdata into content.
The only concern I had with the book is the same problem I have with web browsers: the need for frequent updates. Since all common browsers have very inconsistent support for HTML5, and will be adapting very quickly to adopt new portions of the specification. Thankfully, the author maintains a website that complements the book very well, so current information should always be available rather easily.
This book is a great resource for those who know about HTML5 but want just a little more information. I found the author provided very complete and understandable information on HTML5 features, such as canvas drawing, mutimedia support, geolocation, offline data storage and microdata. I appreciated his first chapter dedicated to the thought process behind HTML, giving some insight of what thought goes into adding standards that usually goes unnoticed. I am also grateful that the ease of adding backward compatibility was also strongly addressed in this book, so hopefully it will encourage developers to refresh their web content. Finally, I most appreciated the microdata section of the book. Although the concept is simple enough, I think this chapter gives the reader a taste of why it's important and useful to add microdata into content.
The only concern I had with the book is the same problem I have with web browsers: the need for frequent updates. Since all common browsers have very inconsistent support for HTML5, and will be adapting very quickly to adopt new portions of the specification. Thankfully, the author maintains a website that complements the book very well, so current information should always be available rather easily.
February 22, 2011
I can honestly say I really enjoyed reading this book. The writing style is very conversational, witty and light-hearted. It is, in fact, more or less a printed version of hdiveintohtml5.org/, which might partly explain the informal style.
The book gives a proper overview of what HTML5 is and isn't, and what you can do with it right now. Strangely, though, it does not give a complete overview of all the new tags, just the most important ones. It does provide a detailed description of how to convert video files using Handbrake. Which is of limited use, since the video tag is one of the more problematic tags to start using right now.
It also has quite a few pages on microdata, with lots of repetitive content and elaborate descriptions and examples for namespaces that aren't yet supported in any browser or search engine.
That's a bit odd, but it might also be explained by the origin of the book. Seen as a living, breathing website, the text can be modified and annotated as browser support increases and elements become more or less important.
As a HTML5 primer though, it could've been 50 or 60 pages shorter and just as useful. I think this book would have benefited from more substantial editing.
The book gives a proper overview of what HTML5 is and isn't, and what you can do with it right now. Strangely, though, it does not give a complete overview of all the new tags, just the most important ones. It does provide a detailed description of how to convert video files using Handbrake. Which is of limited use, since the video tag is one of the more problematic tags to start using right now.
It also has quite a few pages on microdata, with lots of repetitive content and elaborate descriptions and examples for namespaces that aren't yet supported in any browser or search engine.
That's a bit odd, but it might also be explained by the origin of the book. Seen as a living, breathing website, the text can be modified and annotated as browser support increases and elements become more or less important.
As a HTML5 primer though, it could've been 50 or 60 pages shorter and just as useful. I think this book would have benefited from more substantial editing.
September 13, 2010
A perfect introduction into the new features in HTML5. Gives the reader (at least reading the e-book) tons of links to examples and a plethora of resources for further information and more in-depth articles, along with recommendations for tools that will be of use to any web developer. Many of the new features in HTML5 are not yet supported by various browser, depending on the feature and browser version, so this book serves as somewhat of a glimpse as to where the web is (or may be) heading in the near future. Offers detailed descriptions of how each feature will be implemented by many different platforms (Windows/Mac/Linux/Android/iPhone/iPad). Provides some interesting history lessons on the development of the web and the HTML standards. Gives comprehensive data on how to detect the implementation of various new features in browsers, through tools and script.
Easy to read/understand/work with. Read it in one afternoon/evening, and have plenty more information from it to keep me busy for awhile. For a computer/programming book, it was actually a fun read.
Easy to read/understand/work with. Read it in one afternoon/evening, and have plenty more information from it to keep me busy for awhile. For a computer/programming book, it was actually a fun read.
May 9, 2012
This short book is packed with HTML5 examples, aimed at those already familiar with HTML. Because I build websites, not web apps, I was more interested in the new semantic elements, forms, audio, and video than in canvas, geolocation, local storage, and offline web apps.
This book explains more of HTML's history than other HTML5 books I've read, which I actually enjoyed. I didn't know much about microdata, so it was enlightening to see how search engines can extract information from microdata to provide better search results, such as in Google Rich Snippets.
I liked Introducing HTML5 better (my review).
Notes
Use Modernizr to detect HTML5 support.
It's OK to use more than one h1 per page, as long as each one is within a different sectioning element.
This book explains more of HTML's history than other HTML5 books I've read, which I actually enjoyed. I didn't know much about microdata, so it was enlightening to see how search engines can extract information from microdata to provide better search results, such as in Google Rich Snippets.
I liked Introducing HTML5 better (my review).
Notes
Use Modernizr to detect HTML5 support.
It's OK to use more than one h1 per page, as long as each one is within a different sectioning element.
February 14, 2011
I read this in its Internet form, where it's called Dive Into Html5, and it's great! In addition to being a great history and overview of the evolution of Html, the e-book also acts as a simple but effective application of Html5 techniques and features. This is one of the few books that actually works better as an e-book.
My only gripe was that it's effectively covering a technology in its infancy (not really its fault, of course), and had to include "Feature not implemented" disclaimers for a lot of things. It was also a bit repetitive with it's javascript feature detection code, which are more-or-less the same code for each new element.
Nevertheless, if you're looking to get started on the future of the web, look no further than this well made--and free!--book. It rocks!
My only gripe was that it's effectively covering a technology in its infancy (not really its fault, of course), and had to include "Feature not implemented" disclaimers for a lot of things. It was also a bit repetitive with it's javascript feature detection code, which are more-or-less the same code for each new element.
Nevertheless, if you're looking to get started on the future of the web, look no further than this well made--and free!--book. It rocks!
July 13, 2012
Celkem podrobná knížka, včetně historických návazností. Nejenom základní popis, ale i ukázka např. kreslení na canvas. Pro rychlý přehled je lepší spíš knížka "HTML5 for Web Designers - Jeremy Keith".
Podrobně je rozebráno: detekce podpory HTML5 (vše míří na knihovnu Modernizr); nové sémantické tagy; a možnosti kreslení jednotlivých elementů; včetně ukázat konvertování videa na různé formáty; geolokace; localStorage; offline; nové typy input prvků; mikrodata.
Chyběl mi popis: Web Workers, contentEditable, Drag&Drop.
Některé sekce až zbytečně roztahané, například kde se rozebírá převod video formátů, vysvětluje se co je to mp3/mp4. Nebo sekce mikrodata, kde autor rozepisuje detailní použití asi na 5ti příkladech.
Podrobně je rozebráno: detekce podpory HTML5 (vše míří na knihovnu Modernizr); nové sémantické tagy; a možnosti kreslení jednotlivých elementů; včetně ukázat konvertování videa na různé formáty; geolokace; localStorage; offline; nové typy input prvků; mikrodata.
Chyběl mi popis: Web Workers, contentEditable, Drag&Drop.
Některé sekce až zbytečně roztahané, například kde se rozebírá převod video formátů, vysvětluje se co je to mp3/mp4. Nebo sekce mikrodata, kde autor rozepisuje detailní použití asi na 5ti příkladech.
June 13, 2011
Una guida introduttiva alle principali novità di HTML 5. Tratta principalmente quello che è già supportato da diversi browser, invece di perdere troppo tempo in funzionalità non ancora ben definite nello standard e non supportate. Non tratta assolutamente delle novità di CSS3 e Javascript2, ognuna delle quali avrebbe richiesto un manuale a parte. Ottimo lo specchietto riassuntivo con le versioni minime dei browser richiesti per ogni funzionalità, la trattazione di come "adattare" i vecchi browser e soprattutto lo stile di scrittura lineare, simpatico e mai noioso. Ottima anche l'appendice finale riassuntiva e molto utile il capitolo sui microdati (formato "concorrente" dei microformati).
May 2, 2015
This book have some really bad reviews. The problem is that people wrongly approach this as a beginner(I really don't know why every book in IT should be beginner-friendly) guide to HTML and this is not the case. This book is for people who are already accustomed to HTML and it offers to them an introduction(for a better grasp you really need to dive more into this topics) on the new features introduced in HTML5.
Some chapters are unnecessarily long(the chapters on video and microdata) but it's simple approach makes it an easy weekend read.
Some chapters are unnecessarily long(the chapters on video and microdata) but it's simple approach makes it an easy weekend read.
September 5, 2010
I had a great time reading this book. It's exciting stuff, and presented well mostly. Some parts get a little... copy-and-paste and unnecessary. But that's made up for with the humor. Things like "If you haven't heard of MP3s, I don't know what to do with you" (p.86). I laughed out loud a few times. And I'm excited to go play with some HTML5.
Also available online, or so, http://diveintohtml5.org/
Also available online, or so, http://diveintohtml5.org/
December 16, 2010
Designed to introduce readers to the new features made available by HTML 5, this book also offers a broader context for understanding the origins and evolution of markup as a practice. On its way to guiding web developers to slicker applications enabled by HTML 5, Pilgrim dives into the whys and giving varying degrees of attention to the whats and hows of new tags and other capabilities offered by the updated markup language.
December 12, 2010
Excellent read. I'd like very much for all IT books to be written in such great style. I'm not a developer by far, but even so - this book was an excellent overview of what lurks behind those hyped keywords of today's Web. Full of practical advices, straight to the point, and fun to read - if you're interested in what's here and what's to come in the world of HTML, read this book.
September 3, 2015
The short book with badly structured content. Almost every HTML feature mentioned several times in different chapters.
But it has good basic examples to show you HTML5 "in action". And, that is more important for me, it shows a lot of the fallback tricks to force old browsers do the same stuff that newest browsers do!
But it has good basic examples to show you HTML5 "in action". And, that is more important for me, it shows a lot of the fallback tricks to force old browsers do the same stuff that newest browsers do!
November 28, 2010
Definitely one of the more entertaining computer books I've read. I worked many of the examples, and it was not painful despite my less than stellar competence with Javascript. You will need to also use the website available at http://diveintohtml5.org/.
March 6, 2012
I really enjoyed how this book provided little histories on how HTML came to be what it was. The narrative made the content much more enjoyable. As for the nuts and bolts content, it was just what I needed to get me down the road with HTML5.
December 18, 2011
A very interesting read for anyone willing to dive into HTML5. It provides a good amount of content and isn't mean of exemples and advices. I honestly jumped over a few sections that in my opinion were a bit too long (details in Microdata mainly) but this books is great to read!
September 23, 2010
An excellent introduction to HTML5. It has significantly shortened my learning curve.
December 6, 2010
Short read, but told me exactly everything I needed to know. Didn't think I was stupid, but didn't gloss over important things. No SVG stuff, though... bummer.
July 11, 2015
Worth it for the first chapter alone: a great summary of how decisions get made - or don't - within the context of technology standards.
June 7, 2011
If all the Up and Running books are this good, I'm reading more of them.
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