Chapter 1 - Getting Started

What is Dreamweaver - semi WYSIWYG xhtml editor. (pg3)

HTML vs. XHTML - XHTML has removed some deprecated tags, become standardized (closing tags required, all lower case tags & attributes)

(X)HTML defines the structure of the web page

Do you need to know XHTML to use Dreamweaver?

Yes and No.

Yes because there are some tags & attributes that Dreamweaver doesn't allow easy access to. If you are going to move into programming on the web, it will be more beneficial to know XHTML, if you are strictly a designer, it is not as necessary.

No because you will rarely need them.

Sort Of if you are going to be a standards compliant CSS designer, web optimizer, or work with SEO then knowing the tags will simplify your life!

What is XHTML and how does it look? - pg 5 & 6

File Naming

• NO SPACES (not a rule - other than mine) use an _ or - (preferred) instead!
• avoid reserved characters like /,\,:
• HTML should usually have a .htm or .html extension (unless using a server side language - but we won't in this class). Other common extensions are .gif, .jpg, .swf, .mov
• try to use all lower case

What is CSS

• Pg 8
• Cascading Style Sheet
• Defines the presentation of the web page
• allows you to redefine how a page looks based upon the rules that you write
• Dreamweaver allow you to "write" CSS with a built in tool

What is JavaScript

• Pg 10
• Started by Netscape
• NO relation to Java (other than a similar name)
• defines the interaction (behaviors) of the web page

What is a Web Application

A web application generally is made up of numerous pages, that utilize server driven behaviors.

A web application may perform e-commerce, inventory, customer support, searching, etc.

Think of what a computer desktop application can do, but on the web!