Web Design

I may be a web desgin n00bie, but I know enough to pass XHTML 1.0 STRICT validation. That has to be worth something, right?

Web Standards

Wikipedia:
Web standards is a general term for the formal standards and other technical specifications that define and describe aspects of the World Wide Web.

These web standards include such things as the necessary components of a web page, the syntax that should be used, and how the page should be laid out.

Unfortunately, the phrase web standard is something of a misnomer, as there are many different standards currently in use on the World Wide Web. Somewhat to blame: the Web is persistent. If a new standard is developed, the old websites don't just cease to exist, or instantly update. For some websites, it simply isn't feasible to invest the time or money required to adopt the new standard, even if it is inherently better.

Currently supported standards

If you look above or below the content on this page, you will see links to the web standards I am most familiar with. Click on one of those links for a more in-depth explanation, and for sample code. Read below for a quick overview of each standard.

Mark-up Languages

Wikipedia defines mark-up as:
A markup language provides a way to combine a text and extra information about it. The extra information, including structure, layout, or other information, is expressed using markup, which is typically intermingled with the primary text. The best-known markup language in modern use is HTML (HyperText Markup Language), one of the foundations of the World Wide Web.

• HTML | Hypertext Mark-up Language

In its most basic form, a HTML page is nothing more than a text file with special elements called tags. These tags are simply codes that are interpreted by a web browser, instructing it to mark-up, or format, the content in a certain way. Some examples: <b> to bold text, <em> to emphasize text, or <q> to quote text.

• DHTML | Dynamic Hypertext Mark-up Language

According to Wikipedia:
Dynamic HTML or DHTML is a collection of technologies used together to create interactive and animated web sites by using a combination of a static markup language (such as HTML), a client-side scripting language (such as JavaScript), a presentation definition language (Cascading Style Sheets, CSS), and the Document Object Model.

• XHTML | Extensible Hypertext Mark-up Language

XHTML is a fusion of HTML and XML, or Extensible Mark-up Language. XML documents must follow a strict guideline to be considered valid. By combining HTML and XML, we are able to ensure that the web pages we produce will display consistently correct in various web browsers. The main benefit that XML brings to HTML is that is forces the person coding the web page to close (define the end of) the mark-up tags in his or her HTML code.

CSS | Cascading Style Sheet

Using a cascading style sheet, it is possible to reduce the weight, or file size, of a HTML source document by several factors. A CSS file defines rules for the presentation of the content within the HTML file it is linked to or embedded in. These rules allow the page designer to apply the same styling to multiple elements within the page without having to repeat the styling code over and over again.

Server-side Scripting

In a nutshell, server-side scripting is a process of using a server-based technology to generate a dynamic HTML page. There are many different technologies available, but the two I have heard of most are PHP and ASP.

• PHP | PHP Hypertext Processing

PHP is an object-oriented programming language, based on C, whose primary purpose is to create dynamic webpages through a process known as server-side scripting.

Client-side Scripting

Client-side scripting, like server-side scripting, allows you to create a page that can respond to user input. Unlike server-side scripting, client-side scripting executes from within the user's web browser.

• Javascript

Wikipedia:
JavaScript is a scripting language most often used for client-side web development. It was the originating implementation of the ECMAScript standard. As such, it is a dynamic, weakly typed, prototype-based language with first-class functions.

MySQL

According to Wikipedia, MySQL is a multithreaded, multi-user SQL database management system (DBMS). MySQL seems to be the database system of choice for most Open Source projects, possibly because it is licensed under the GNU/GPL, or GNU General Public License.

Image Formats

There are three image formats that see a fair majority of use on the World Wide Web. They are: GIF, JPEG (or JPG), and PNG.