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An XHTML Tutorial That Does Not Assume HTML?
stevelinton writes "I am looking for a tutorial similar to Dave Ragget's excellent HTML tutorial(s), but for XHTML 1.1.
I am NOT looking for a "HTML to XHTML" conversion tutorial. I want to teach a class XHTML 1.1 from day 1, without assuming that they know any HTML at all.
Does anyone know of such a thing?"
http://www.w3schools.com/xhtml/default.asp
Well, most of XHTML is exactly like HTML, HTML is only badly used, and most people looking for writing correct HTML tend to use XHTML because it sounds more correct.
/> instead of >, example would be
.
The main differences between "correct" HTML and "correct" XHTML are:
* In XHTML closed tags should be ended with
.
* Proper nesting is very important in XHTML, you cannot do something like x
* Some few attributes are removed, and some are added.
In *both* HTML and XHTML, use of CSS for layout is stressed. In both most good practices are advised. So HTML tutorials should serve as good introduction to XHTML.
In my personal opinion, I think teaching XHTML without introducing HTML first is a bit wrong, because HTML is still the most used recommendation, and usage of HTML did not die yet, and some people even argue that it is too early to start using XHTML in real practice.
Anyway, answering your question, I got this old XHTML related book, which I like and would advise people to use. "XHTML In plain English", it serves as both an XHTML and CSS reference and has good introduction to both. it seems however that their page is not active anymore, if you like to visit it anyway, it is http://mandtbooks.com/.
My verdict is, it is _better_ to teach HTML before talking about XHTML, XHTML is just HTML based on XML rules, nothing much different than normal HTML.
Thanks for reading,
Khalid
"What you 'seek' is what you get!"
Don't listen to the parent poster's advice please because he's dead wrong.
You can easily teach XHTML without setting any course prerequisites such as HTML knowledge.
XHTML is very intuitive and it's the cutting edge, really, these days. So go for it, I say.
Get a couple good books as references, though; they'll serve as good workbooks from which you can glean sample problems and code for the students.
Happy XHTML'ling!
31 people regularly point & click my G-spot
No problem at all to start people off on XHTML instead of HTML. For an entry level, beginner's course which teaches correct, valid, accessible XHTML which will then link to a CSS stylesheet look at my Intro to XHTML. This includes how to correctly structure information rather than just format it. Includes MP3 files and video. It's free.
There are some good references here already, but you need to do more than just teach pure xhtml, you should give some history and context, and reasons why xhtml exists. Cover both the benefits, limitations and user agent support. It's important to put whatever you are teaching in context, not just teach it devoid of real life application and history.
Explain xhtml in terms of the main xhtml DOCTYPES/DTDs; strict, transitional and frameset. Without understanding DOCTYPEs the context of markup can be lost. Focus on strict dtd, but be sure to cover it's dangers and limitations in user agents. Getting students to work with strict will give them a better understanding of the whole process of trying to separate content from presentation, develop real knowledge and skills and understanding the benefits of this in the long run. If students use strict they will need to reject all use of deprecated tags, which is a good discipline to get into.
Learning xhtml is not as tough as learning good accompanying CSS practice, especially if you are trying to manage positioning in the design, and also design according to accessibility principles using relative units instead of absolute units.
You should also cover relevant material in W3C documents
Also briefly address xhtml2 (xforms etc), XML and XSL/XSLT.