In this part of the book, we explore and explain basic HTML document links and structures.  We also explain the key role that Web browsers play in delivering all this stuff to people's desktops.  We even explain where the (X) comes from -- namely, a reworking of the original description of HTML markup using the XML syntax to create XHTML -- and go on to help you understand what makes XHTML different (and possibly better, according to some) than plain old HTML. We also take a look at general Web-page anatomy, at the various pieces ad parts that make up a Web page, and at how CSS helps to manage their presentation, placement, and even color when they appear on somebody's display.

Next, we take you through the exercise of creating and viewing a simple Web page so you can understand what's involved in doing this for yourself. We also explain what's involved in making changes to an existing Web page and how to post your changes (or a new page) online.

This part concludes with a rousing exhortation to figure out what you're doing before making too much markup happen. Just as a well-built house starts with a set of blueprints and architectural drawings, so should a Web page (and site) start with a plan or a map, with some idea of where your pages will reside in cyberspace and how hordes of users can find their way to them. 

In this part of the book, we describe the markup and document structures that make Web pages workable and attractive. To begin with, we examine gross HTML document structure, including document headers and bodies, and how to put the right pieces together. After that, we talk about organizing text in blocks and lists. Next, we explain how linking works in (X)HTML and how it provides the glue that ties the entire World Wide Web together. To wrap things up, we also explain how to add graphics to your pages. Thus, we cover the basic building blocks for well-constructed, properly proportioned Web pages -- and not by coincidence, either.

In this part of the book, we introduce and describe Cascading Style Sheets, (CSS), a powerful markup language that is often used to supplement (X)HTML and to manage the way it looks inside a Web browser.  (X)HTML can reference CSS by including either an external style sheet or inline CSS markup within an (X)HTML document.

Here you start out by familiarizing yourself with the many and various capabilities of CSS, get a look at different kids of style sheets, and get acquainted with the rules for handling multiple style sheets when they're applied to a single Web page (that's where the Cascading in CSS comes from). Of course, you also find out how to build and use CSS for things like creating visual layouts, positioning individual items, and handling fonts. Because CSS also provides controls over color and modifying the way text appears on the page, you find out how to deal with these capabilities as well.

Tables are an important way to organize and represent data in (X)HTML. No surprise that this part of the book shows basic table setup, structure, and syntax, and also explains how you can use CSS to manage table appearance. 

In this part of the book, we introduce and describe the types of scripting language that work on Web pages, and we dig into JavaScript -- by far the most popular of all Web-scripting languages in use. Scripting languages help turn static, unchanging Web pages into active, dynamic documents that can solicit and respond to user input. You start by learning basic JavaScript elements, data types, and values, and progress to topics that include rearranging Web-page content on the fly, performing calculations and displaying their results, requesting and checking user input, and a whole bunch more.

Next, you dig more deeply into JavaScript so you can understand it -- and use it -- in your Web pages. You also learn how to incorporate JavaScript into Web pages and how it handles and changes Web page contents on the fly. You also learn about checking your work and using cookies (those interesting but elusive data packages that adhere to Web users as they flit about online).

The last two chapters in this part show you ways to put JavaScript to work in your Web pages. You explore how to define and use a navigation bar, which presents users with dynamic menus of options and information to make it easier for them to move around your Web site. You find out how to use JavaScript to create and use various data-entry forms in your Web pages to solicit, check, and respond to user input. You also pick up the basic concepts and techniques for creating dynamic HTML (sometimes called DHTML) and using client-side JavaScripts and prefabricated code to perform basic tasks, such as displaying date and time information, counting site visitors, or tabulating current statistics. 

In this part of the book, you can explore, understand, and see some typical Web page projects, including all the markup and underlying scripts, graphics, and other materials that go into their makeup. They're ready-to-use examples that you can edit or customize for your own needs and circumstances; these projects are designed to function as templates of a sort that you can adapt and use as your own Web pages.

Here, you find typical implementations of a personal Web page, an eBay auction page, a basic company Web site, and a product catalog page that incorporates an honest-to-gosh shopping cart application. This is where everything from Parts II, III, and IV is put to work in useful, snazzy Web pages you can tailor for your own purposes.

Here we point you at some undeniably cool HTML tools, cover top dos and don'ts for HTML markup, and help you catch potential bugs and errors in your Web pages. We also bring some killer HTML, XHTML, and CSS specification and resource sites to your attention. And with our tongues planted firmly in our cheeks (that makes it kind of hard to talk, you know), we recap some of the most important advice and information in this book. Enjoy!