First, there was HTML. Then along came JavaScript. Close on the heels of JavaScript came CSS and before you mastered that, along came XML. Behind every successful web page is an overworked and underappreciated webmaster with a big pile of books about various web technologies spilling out across their desk.

That collection of books is a valuable resource for delving into the topics at depth (and at leisure). But when you need an answer fast, the dog-eared book you'll turn to again and again is the new third edition of Webmaster in a Nutshell.

This concise and portable quick reference distills an immense amount of information on several languages and technologies into one compact reference book. This is one book that will pay for itself a thousand times over in time saved and increased productivity.

Webmaster in a Nutshell puts a fast-paced introduction, detailed reference section, and quick reference guide to each technology all within easy reach. It's packed full of the genuinely useful information a webmaster needs daily, whatever the technology, including:

• HTML
• CSS
• XML
• CGI
• JavaScript
• HTTP
• PHP
• Apache

This thorough, clear, and accessible reference makes it easy to find the information you want about the technologies you use. You'll keep your other books on the shelf; you'll keep Webmaster in a Nutshell next to your keyboard.

Average Customer Review: ( 37 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

The book excells as a quick reference to these and virtually all other webmaster areas, including Apache server configuration, CGI variables and much more. You just can't beat it. It replaces half a dozen books costing thirty or fourty quid each!

Once you've grasped the basics of HTML and JavaScript, this may well be the only reference book you ever need.

Now on to the nitpicking... and why I only gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

I was exceptionally disappointed to see that the Perl Quick Reference that I had been so fond of in the first edition had now been replaced with a mere overview of the cgi.pm module; and that a quick reference to the PHP scripting language appeared to have taken Perl's place.

Yes, I have other Perl references. Heck, I've *already* got the Perl Pocket Reference, Perl In A Nutshell and Linux In A Nutshell (which includes a Perl Quick Ref). But that's not the point.

The second edition, like the first, sells itself as the only book you'll keep on your desktop (as opposed to on your shelf). Sorry, but with the Perl Quick Ref missing, this just isn't true anymore. Perl is the number one CGI programming language and the number one quick fix language. Whatever you want to do, you can rattle up a quick and dirty Perl solution in seconds. PHP just isn't up in that category. I need a Perl Quick Reference on my desk at all times.

I just don't understand the decision to cut the Perl Quick Ref, since it only took up a dozen pages or so. It was as vital to any half decent webmaster as the HTML or JavaScript sections.

O'Reilly, *please*, put back the Perl Quick Ref and earn yourself the full five stars.

16 of 16 found the following review helpful:

Life easier, desktop manageable with 2003 THIRD editionMar 04, 2003
By richardpinneau.com
I invested in a copy of the THIRD edition and am DELIGHTED. This reference does a good job of putting all the day-to-day needed information in one place. It saves me froming having to keep separate references on HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, CGI/Perl, HTTP, PHP, Apache functions, etc. right in my face.

I really applaud the compact and accessible way each chapter organizes and presents the details of syntax: they are clear yet take up much less space (1/5 the pages of books that are billed as references to each of the subjects included here) while giving you 95% of what a "comprehensive reference" might. I had been concerned that the information might be too compressed to be accessible, but in fact this volume is so much easier to scan through for an answer than many other reference styles. (Kudos to the book designers at O'Reilly!)

Although a reference work, it is not only a listing of syntax (as helpful as those lists are). The authors have compiled pretty readable and thorough mini-backgrounds and basic principles for each of the enormous realms that they document here. These are providing some reminders for me as I am ramp up my knowledgebase and skills; plus there are hints that I have not yet seen elsewhere in weightier tomes (e.g., on performance).

Readers may save themselves some money and desktop/bookshelf space + save some trees: this Nutshell is a vast storehouse that may enable you to forestall buying reference volumes for each of the topics covered here. Thanks to Spainhour & Eckstein for some careful work!

Note to aspiring (novice) webmasters: this IS a REFERENCE book. That is not a bad thing. You'll still appreciate having it by your side because you're regularly going to have basic questions about formating ("how do I say this in CSS instead of HTML?"). However, as one young reviewer below discovered, to BECOME a webmaster (or master) is going to require some "Quickstart" books, some instruction in DESIGN, and STRATEGY, etc. Bon voyage!

[ Further note from my earlier review: be sure you are NOT getting EARLIER edition. Complaints mentioned (below) in reviews of this book are rectified in the THIRD edition (ISBN 0596003579 ). It's probably a good idea to be watching as the reviews of that December 20002 volume to see how the work has changed.
In any event, with browsers and markup languages changing so fast almost everyone can be advised to jump to considering the most current edition -- even though (as of this writing) new copies of this 1999 second edition are still available. ]

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Excellent Reference For Any Web DesignerJun 25, 2000
By Todd Hawley
As a part-time web designer, I'm always looking to learn more "web tricks" and WebMaster In a Nutshell allows me to do just that. The second edition of this book covers so many different aspects of web development. It devotes chapters to new developments in HTML (HTML 4) and JavaScript. There are also chapters devoted to Cascading Style Sheets, XML, CGI, Apache modules, and HTTP itself.

All current HTML tags and attributes are listed, along with JavaScript event handlers. Tables, frames, character entries and color values are also covered in various chapters. Very handy material!

While this is definitely not a tutorial book, it does contain lots of reference material and I learned a few new tricks reading through this book. It's one I'll know I'll refer to again and again when I have a question about how to do a particular task while working on one of my websites.

Also recommended: HTML 4 Visual Quick Start Guide by Elizabeth Castro; and UNIX in A Nutshell by Arnold Robbins.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

A DEPENDABLE MINI-REFERENCEJan 12, 2003
By reviewer
This newly released Third Edition of "Webmaster in a Nutshell" indicates a promising improvement over the Second Edition. It is one of the few books that completely analysed all the contemporary web technologies we use today: JavaScript, Apache, XML, HTML, HTTP, PHP, CSS, and CGI. This book will benefit any web-developer (or enthusiast) who pays close attention to it. Most of the chapters have been revised, and additional updates embraced JavaScript, PHP, Apache, and CSS. The book's wide coverage makes it a dependable mini-reference text.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Excellent as a Reference Book.Jan 09, 2000

I think the gentleman who gave this book 2 stars missed the point of the the entire In a Nutshell series. Most, if not all, of them are meant as a ready reference. They were never designed to teach. They were however designed so that you could say "Now what parameter can be used with that tag?" and find the answer. In this role, the Webmaster in a Nutshell, really shines, since you can leave it on your desk and not have a seperate reference for HTML and Javascript.

See all 37 customer reviews on Amazon.com