翻译：《Beginning HTML with CSS and XHTML》序

序

在1999年，我买了一本网页方面的书。这个美丽而又相对全新的世界吸引了我，这本小册子中的4页左右的HTML基础知识把我带向了英特网的未来。3个小时以后，我做了一个可以和另外页面相连的网页。这第一个网页虽然看起来很粗糙，但是我很高兴。那天，后来我又设法把它上传到了一个空间。此时，我知道自己创建了一个网站－－一个真实的网站。
天真的我之后将家里的电脑开着以便其他人可以看到我的网页。第二天上班,当我将自己的小站展示在我的老板面前的时候,我是何等的惊讶。
因此，我又买了本叫《一周学会HTML》。这是一个非常长的周末。这本和其他的一些入门的书教会我许多知识，但是它们中也有一些不好的东西，我的代码被局限在了字体标签、框架、用来布局的表格里。那时侯CSS还没有被采用。
起初，我们使用HTML来完成所有复杂的工作，因为我们不知道还有什么更好的。这种有难度的、受限制并且笨拙的代码已经超出了仅靠HTML代码来进行网站建设的初衷，它正发展成为一种强大的语言，虽然带有一些弊端的早期规范。虽然我现在可以接受它了，但是我不确定为什么近来那么多的书中还是用一些不假思索、过时的技术来误导读者，其实按照网页规范可以做的更好。
我担心人们是怎样学做网站的，并且我知道这些对于初学者来说是很难理解的。同样，我也担心许多专业人士仍用低等的技术来对待客户。这也是我为什么如此兴奋地为大家介绍David Schultz和Craig Cook著作的这本《Beginning HTML with CSS and XHTML》：流行的指导和介绍他们多年的项目经验，让你学会如何构建现代、符合标准、不杂乱的HTML和CSS、XHTML甚至Javascript网站—完美的介绍。
你将发现大量的很实用的例子。象我这样对尖端的编码比较坚持己见的人，给我留下深刻印象的是书中所有的HTML代码（你将从中学到）都经过严格验证。David 和Craig确保所有的代码在各种浏览器下都能正确地运行。
你将踏上一段伟大的探险，但是在你手上有一张最好的地图，并且有两位专家与你携手并肩。你将达到你的目的地，并且抒发你的探寻网页标准之路,还有为什么老哥俩会对过时的方法感觉怪怪的呢?伟大的探险者，这本书将告诉你所有你要知道的。
Simon Collison
《Beginning CSS Web Development》的作者, 2006年末

Foreword
In 1999, I bought a book about the web. This brave and still relatively new world had caught my interest, and the pocket-sized Rough Guide to the Internet featured four or so pages of rudimentary HTML. After about three hours I had built a web page and linked to another one. This first web page looked awful, but I was excited. Later that day I somehow managed to upload it to a domain, and I realized I had created a website—an actual website.
So naive was I back then that I assumed I’d need to leave my home computer on in order for other web users to see my pages! How amazed I was at work the next day when I successfully called my little website up in front of the boss.
So, I decided to buy another book, called Learn HTML in a Weekend. It was a very long weekend. This and other preliminary books taught me a lot, but much of it badly; my code was littered with font tags, frames, and tables for layout. CSS had not really taken hold back then.
In the beginning, we used HTML to do all the hard work because we didn’t know any better. This difficult, limiting, and weighty approach to building websites was born out of HTML’s generosity, it being a rich language with early specifications offering rather too much scope for abuse. I can accept that now, but I’m unsure why so many recent books still preoccupy the reader with ill-advised and outdated techniques that can be achieved much better and more easily with web standards.
I care about how people learn to build websites, and I know it can be impenetrable for beginners. Equally, I worry that many professionals are still ripping off clients with shoddy workmanship. This is why I’m so happy to introduce this book. David Schultz and Craig Cook understand that building websites is a craft, and with Beginning HTML with CSS and XHTML: Modern Guide and Reference they bring you years of experience condensed into an enjoyable, carefully structured reference focused on responsible, powerful HTML, CSS, XHTML and even JavaScript—the perfect introductory package.
You’ll find a wealth of practical examples that you can actually use. As a stickler for top-notch code, I’m especially impressed that everything within validates as HTML Strict (which you’ll learn more about soon) and that David and Craig have ensured all methods work cross-browser and will stand up to whatever twists and turns the Internet takes next.
You are embarking upon a great adventure, but you have in your hands the best possible map and two expert guides to hold your hand. Soon you’ll reach your destination and will be waxing lyrical to anyone who’ll listen about your grasp of web standards, wondering why the old boys still work with their outdated methods. Mighty explorers, this book will tell you all you need to know.
Simon Collison
Author of Beginning CSS Web Development, Apress 2006