About This Site

I intend for this web site to display correctly with as many different browsers and computer platforms as possible. As a result, I try to keep my HTML code as pure as possible, meaning that I don't use any browser-specific HTML extensions that are only usable by a limited audience, and I make sure my site coding meets the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)'s HTML/XHTML/CSS Specifications.

This site is maintained on several Macintosh computers. It was originally created using Bare Bones Software's BBEdit, and it is now maintained using Panic Software's Coda. (I believe in editing HTML files by hand, to give me the most control over how they work and to make sure that they continue to validate as proper HTML.)

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

HTML is the basic language that is used in most Web sites. It has been extended several times, and is currently in its final HTML incarnation at version 4.01; future versions will take the form of Extensible HTML (XHTML), which is addressed below.

General HTML Resources

HTML Quick Reference/Cheatsheets

HTML Character Entity Codes

Most special characters beyond the standard letters and numbers require special entity codes to guarantee that they will be displayed properly. These pages offer lists of these entity codes, as well as information on which are supported by the official HTML specification.

HTML Color Codes

Named Colors: sixteen colors are named as part of the HTML 4 specification; the following sources provide lists of these color names:

Web-Safe Palettes: researchers have identified 216 "web-safe" colors that should display correctly in any browser and any monitor; the following sources provide charts of these colors:

Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML)

XHTML is the future language of the Web, intended as a replacement for HTML. At least in version 1.0, it is quite similar to HTML, with only a few relatively minor changes (all markup tags require closing tags, all tags must be written in lower case, all tag values must be enclosed in quotes, and so on). I am currently engaged in rewriting this web site in XHTML, after seven years in various versions of HTML.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

CSS is a technology that allows much greater control over the appearance of web sites than was possible with basic HTML. CSS can be used with both HTML 4 and XHTML, and I am beginning to use it for the first time as I redo this site in XHTML 1.

CSS General Resources

CSS Quick Reference

CSS for Site Layout

One of the most promising uses for CSS -- but also one of the most difficult to perfect when there are so many different levels of CSS support and so many different CSS bugs in various browsers -- is the use of style sheets for page layout. I had some serious problems with this myself as I developed the new layout for this site in summer of 2003. These sites offer tried and true layout templates that are built with CSS, which users are welcome to borrow or adapt for their own use.

Validators and Other Web Design Tools

What Are Validators, and Why Should I Use Them?

The Web Developers Virtual Library offers an explanation of HTML checking/validation (as well as a related article "HTML Standards Compliance: Why Bother?")

HTML Validators and Other Useful Services

Web Design and Style Issues

Even if one writes technically perfect HTML code, there is no guarantee that the page will be useful. These pages address a variety of Web design, style, and usability issues that Web designers should keep in mind while designing their sites.


http://www.paulhensel.org/computer.html
Last updated: 29 December 2008
This site © Copyright 1996-present, Paul R. Hensel. All rights reserved.