Before You BeginBefore You Begin
This Sams Teach Yourself Video Learning Starter Kit is about the two web development technologies that provide the basic foundation of all current websites and web applications today.
HTML and CSS are at work behind the scenes and on the home pages of everything from the simplest blog to huge sites like Facebook, Yahoo, and Google, with millions of subscribers and users worldwide.
Although the videos in this course most likely wont show you how to develop the next Google Gmail or Yahoo home page, they will give even nonprogrammers a solid understanding of how HTML and CSS work—and how you too can easily learn the basics of using HTML and CSS and begin to build your own website, large or small.
Before you get started watching the videos, however, we suggest that you first take a few minutes to review the material in this booklet. The information here will help you make sure you have all the equipment needed to watch the videos and do the exercises, and it will help you make best use of all the unique features of these courses as well as the software thats also on the DVD.
About HTML and CSS
Over the last decade or so, the World Wide Web has grown in scope from being a relatively simple information repository to become the first stop for many people when seeking entertainment, education, news, or business resources.
Websites themselves need no longer be limited to a number of static pages containing text and perhaps simple images; the tools now available allow the development of highly interactive and engaging pages involving animations, visual effects, context-sensitive content, embedded productivity tools, and much more.
The list of technologies available for producing such pages is broad. However, those based on open standards have become, and remain, highly popular due to their typically low (often zero) entry cost and the huge resource of user-contributed scripts, tutorials, tools, and other resources for these tools and applications available via the Internet and elsewhere.
But HTML is actually a simple markup language that you can learn very quickly. And although CSS is a bit harder to learn, its an essential component of modern web development. Youll learn more about how these two standards work together to create web pages later on.
Youre probably thinking that if you knew how to create documents in HTML, you could help your company earn more money or, better yet, help you earn more money.
This course uses a series of lessons that walk you through the basics of HTML and then moves on to more advanced features of the language. Each lesson is designed to take about 10 minutes, and each is limited to a particular feature, or several related features, of the HTML language. There are plenty of examples and screen shots to show you what things look like. By the time you finish this course, you should feel confident in creating your own HTML documents for the World Wide Web. You can even use HTML to provide unique and valuable services to your organization or to tell the world about yourself.
About the Video Lessons
Sams Teach Yourself Video Learning courses are designed not only for beginners but also for busy, time-crunched people who arent able to devote the large blocks of time often required to take a full class on a subject or to read some thick tome that covers everything in more detail than theyll ever need.
Each lesson in this course takes no more that 10 minutes to complete three basic steps:
- Watch the video tutorial.
- Try the hands-on examples in the lab section.
- Take a short quiz to test yourself before moving on.
The short video tutorials clearly explain key concepts, terms, and techniques and are rich in diagrams and clear, real-world examples. Plus, you can stop, start, pause, or replay any part of the video you want, as often as you want, until you feel you really understand it.
After youve watched the video tutorial, you then get to try it yourself and put what youve learned to work in a unique hands-on learning lab that helps you begin developing real live programs that you can use on your own website.
The software that you need to complete the exercises is included on the DVD. And as you continue to watch the lesson on your computer, youre guided step by step through the process of creating your own usable code.
Once youre done trying things out in the learning lab, each lesson ends with a short, easy quiz so you can test what youve learned before you go on to the next lesson.
Who This Video Learning Kit Is For
Guess what? You can create HTML documents on any computer system because HTML works the same on any type of computer. Even better, for the most part you can use software that you already own to do it. The software weve included on the DVD has features that will help you later on when youre creating more complicated documents, but just to start out, any kind of text editor (such as Microsoft Notepad on Windows or Text Edit on the Mac) can be used.
Because were covering a lot in each 10-minute lesson, it will certainly help as you go through this book if you already have some basic computer skills (including the ability to use a word processor, some understanding of how to use directories and filenames on your computer system, and some experience using a web browser such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari).
Whats on the DVD
The DVD for Sams Teach Yourself HTML and CSS Video Learning has several components—all accessible by either a Windows or Mac computer:
- 25 10-minute video lessons—Each made up of a short video tutorial, a hands-on learning lab for trying things out, and a short self-assessment quiz at the end.
- Software for the learning labs—An easy-to-install package to set up a web server on your computer, a script-editing program, and source code from all the courses examples that you can cut-and-paste or customize in your own web pages.
- The complete text of the lessons in PDF—All the video lessons in this course are based on chapters from the print books Sams Teach Yourself HTML in 10 Minutes and Sams Teach Yourself CSS in 10 Minutes. So to help you out, if you want to reread a particular lesson or quickly look up a term or technique, weve included the full text of the book in an easily searchable PDF format.
How the Course Is Organized
Sams Teach Yourself HTML and CSS Video Learning is organized into four parts. Each part has six lessons, and each lesson is designed to be completed in 10 minutes or less.
Part I: Web Page Basics
The lessons in Part I provide an introduction to the basics of creating web pages with HTML:
- Lesson 1: Introduction to HTML. Introduces you to the role HTML plays on the web and Internet.
- Lesson 2: Creating Your First Page. Learn to create, save, and view simple web pages.
- Lesson 3: Adding Text and More. Use HTML to add text, headings, and more in your web pages.
- Lesson 4: Linking Text and Documents. Shows how to use HTMLs most valuable feature—hyperlinks.
- Lesson 5: Adding Your Own Style. Learn how to create style sheets and apply them to HTML pages.
- Lesson 6: Creating Lists. Use HTML to organize your text into lists.
Part II: Web Page Graphics, Forms, and Media
The lessons in Part II show you how to add graphics, tables, forms, and media to web pages:
- Lesson 7: Creating Tables. Shows you how to build tables using HTML.
- Lesson 8: Using Graphics. Add pizzazz to your web pages with graphics and images.
- Lesson 9: Mapping Images. Shows how to use image maps.
- Lesson 10: Creating Frames. Learn how to use frames effectively—and when not to use them.
- Lesson 11: Building Online Forms. Create web forms to get input from your visitors.
- Lesson 12: Using Sound and Video. Covers adding sound and video to your web pages.
Part III: Creating and Applying CSS Styles
The lessons in Part III introduce the basics of using CSS styles to design and construct a web page:
- Lesson 13: Web Site Design Basics. Learn some designer tricks of the trade to make your pages look as good as they work.
- Lesson 14: Using CSS Rules. Covers the basic syntax and rules of the CSS language.
- Lesson 15: Using CSS Shorthand. Show you how to use CSS shorthand properties to save time and typing.
- Lesson 16: Selectors in Action. Learn about the different types of selectors and how to use them.
- Lesson 17: Applying Styles. Tells you about the different places where CSS code can be stored.
- Lesson 18: Getting to Know the CSS Box Model. Examines the CSS box model—the rectangular boxes that are generated for all HTML elements.
Part IV: Styling Text, Links, and Images with CSS
The lessons in Part IV deal with using CSS to style everything from images to text, headings, and links:
- Lesson 19: Adding Background Images. Looks at how to apply a background image to your page.
- Lesson 20: Styling Text. Learn how to style text using font, size, alignment, and color properties.
- Lesson 21: Styling a Flexible Heading. Covers how to create a border above and below a heading, add a continuous gradient background, and style the text.
- Lesson 22: Styling a Round-Cornered Heading. Shows how wrap a round-cornered box around a heading.
- Lesson 23: Styling Links. Explains how to style links, add background images, turn off underlines, and use borders.
- Lesson 24: Positioning an Image and Its Caption. Learn how to position and style an image and its caption.
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