My e-mail address has changed to :
hyd1_algolog@sancharnet.in
(h-y-d-one underscore algolog AT sancharnet DOT in)
Please make note of this change, and use only my new address shown above.

(WARNING -- Some pages in this CDROM may still point to my old address. Please watch out !)

Flawless web pages

Meet the author
Study material for flawless webpages
An important social message from Algologic
Why is Linux good for me ?
Send us your suggestions and comments
Administrivia

This material is for personal, academic usage only.

This CDROM is a collection of tutorial material about design of flawless webpages. Although this document does not claim to be an exhaustive collection of all the material and resources available on the web, it is very rich in content. Read it at leisure, and keep it handy for future reference.
Some of the hyperlinks in this CDROM will need an on-line connection to the Internet.
This is a "platform independent" CDROM. You can read this CDROM using any web browser (HTML 4.0 and CSS-2 compatible), and under any operating system. You will also need a suitable software plug in for reading PDF files.
This CDROM does not install any software or modify any of your files or directories by itself. It does not contain any active material i.e. any program or script which get automatically executed on your computer.
It would be a good idea to download the latest version of the files, especially those which contain programs and important tutorials.
The web keeps changing all the time. Do not be disappointed if some of these links do not work any more, when you look for them in the web.
This CDROM has hyperlinks to a very large number of external sites. We have no control over the owners of these web sites. When we included these links, we visited every one of these sites. We also keep visiting these sites randomly. This CDROM is continuously updated on the basis of our experiences. Yet, some flaws may persist.If you find dead links, or inappropriate contents, please exhibit some social responsibility please inform the author immediately, so that the next version of this CDROM does not carry forward these flaws.
Please send your comments, suggestions and opinions about this page, to S. Parthasarathy
The date and important details about this CDROM are given in the Administrivia section.

Flawless webpages

Study material for you

0. General.....

Why is Linux good for me ? This is a Linux starter kit for those who are fed up of the usual garbage operating system, and want a way out.

Slides used in the lecture (PDF file)

1. First, learn the ropes.....

Start from this one: Click here for an exhaustive FAQ about WWW. Very good.
Learn some essentials of web pages .
If you do not know HTML too well, you must read the following tutorials first:
- Click here for a tutorial on basic HTML. Good for a first look at HTML.
- Click here for a tutorial on advanced HTML. Good for a quick look at advanced HTML.
- If you want the current, official, HTML specifications (HTML 4) just copy to a special folder and unzip the (localpath) /zipfiles/html44.zip file. Then, start your favourite browser and open the file about.html.
Cascading style sheets:
- A quick look at CSS
- A real good intro to CSS
- A longer look at CSS2 is available in the file (localpath) /zipfiles/css2.zip You must read this document.
- A very useful index of links.
- Learn CSS in just one page !
DHTML: Dynamic HTML brings in "life" to your web pages. Want to know more ? Just check up on this spectacular tutorial. You will love it.
TABLES: We mean tabular presentation of information -- not the furniture with this same name !
FORMS: Interactive forms provide the first step in introducing interactivity in web pages. Very useful in many contexts. This tutorial will tell you how to work with forms.
FRAMES: For those who wish to design web pages with a touch of sophistication, frames provide an ideal tool. Frames is still a controversial subject, and many web designers (including your Pagemaster) discourage its usage. Nevertheless, you must know how frames work. This tutorial will tell you how.
Click here to know more about web programming languages and tools.
What are cookies ?
What are bookmarklets ?
The future of the web is XML. Learn XML from this excellent XML tutorial.
Learn the inside story of search engines, how they work, what do they do, etc. from this excellent web site.(there is lots of material to read, and lots of links to follow).
Take a peek at Google : A Google page.Output of a search for "Google" using Google. Google search features.For making your search really complete. Google just got better, with soople. Try Soople today.

2. Good web authoring practices

Avoid tinsels and festoons. Follow the NO GIMMICKS WEB PAGE concept.
Add bells and whistles, only if you must. Start shopping for whistles here
Be nice to your web visitors. Add an "administrivia" box to all your web pages.
Use web-safe colours, so that your pages look uniformly similar in all devices.
To make your web pages browser and device independent, read this guide.
CNET.com gives you a lot of tips and tools for getting the best out of the web. Here is a sample from CNET.com
Blogs -- the latest craze in web publishing -- Blogs are short form for "web-logs", these are tools for publishing on the web without writing a single line of HTML code. Log on to your blog site, just fill in what you want to say, add a subject line (for threading). Your message gets instantly published on a web page , with its own URL. Your fiends who read your message can add their comments. these comments get added behind your message. Some blog sites offer a whole lot of bells and whistles. Here is a good blog site (perhaps the oldest). And here is the blog site of Dr. Partha (you can even start a free blog account here). Start a blog and get famous ovenight. It is as easy as 1-2-3 !
And, finally, use good tools :
- Use a good and vendor neutral web development tool, like FIRST PAGE 2000. Or, use this simple, no-nonsense HTML maker : COFFEECUP
- Clean up your HTML with TIDY. Use the free- graphical interface, HTML KIT
- ... and then validate your web pages, using the HTML validator , before you display them publicly on the web. In fact, there are several good, free validators accessible on the web. You can also use the official validator of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
  Or, you can use any of the validation bookmarklets given here
- Here is a specimen of the output from HTML validator. In fact the validator gave up midway with the following message:
```
 [CSE] Error number 26 in
line 165: Terminating validation due to too many errors! Please
correct the previous errors and revalidate the document. 
```
  Here is one more specimen.
- Here is a sample HTML validation report, by WWW Consortium.
- Use CRIMSON, a very good, no- nonsense, plain-text editor. You can also install this FREE copy of the Crimson Editor .
- Some flawless webpages Some nice specimen you can emulate, for creating flawless web pages.
  - This page itself is a good example, and a nice place to start. If you find any flaws, let Dr. Partha know.
  - Wayne wang's home page Sheer beauty without any frills.
  - Top page of Yahoo Amazing, how they can pack so much stuff into one page, yet not make it look too cluttered or confusing.
  - Google. This page was created from a search for "Google" using Google. It also gives you many links to one of the finest search engines we have today.
  - Soople, a form-based interface for Google.
  - Finally, Partha's own web page, why not ?
    
    HOMEWORK for the reader:
    Do these pages qualify for the title of : FLAWLESS WEBPAGES ?
    Send your responses to : Dr. Partha
  Join the NO GIMMICKS WEB PAGE campaign today !

3. The law and the web

Protection of domain names is an important aspect of web management. Read about it.
See the list of accredited domain name registrars.
Learn all you need to know about domain name management.
Learn the basics of Intellectual Property issues in web authoring.
Take a look at the kind of legal procedures you must know when you use the web.
It pays to be clear about your limitations and responsibilities. Here is a honest way to protect yourself.

4. Do it yourself !

Firstpage 2000 is an excellent HTML editor, for creating your own web pages.

It also comes with an excellent and exhaustive collection of information about HTML and related topics.

And, it has a VERY GOOD built-in validator (TIDY).

Firstpage2000 is available in (localpath) /stuff/zipfiles/1stpage2.zip in this CDROM.
Create your first web page (with Firstpage2000).

Goto top

This CDROM has hyperlinks to a very large number of external sites. We have no control over the owners of these web sites. When we included these links, we visited every one of these sites. We also keep visiting these sites randomly. This CDROM is continuously updated on the basis of our experiences. Yet, some flaws may persist. If you find dead links, factual errors, or inappropriate contents, please exhibit some social responsibility please inform the author immediately, so that the next version of this CDROM does not carry forward these flaws.
	ADMINISTRIVIA Page last modified on: 2004-01-21 URL : (localpath)/top-page.htm Send your comments, to: hyd1_algolog@sancharnet.in Page developed by: Algologic Research & Solutions Do not miss : Our Warning and Disclaimer page.
Simplicity is divine. E W Dijkstra (1930-2002)

Go-to-top and start all over again ^

My e-mail address has changed to : hyd1_algolog@sancharnet.in (h-y-d-one underscore algolog AT sancharnet DOT in) Please make note of this change, and use only my new address shown above.