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((((((((((((((((( WEBREFERENCE UPDATE NEWSLETTER ))))))))))))))))) January 8, 2001

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This newsletter is sponsored by: IBM & BOT 2001 Seminar

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****************************************************************** Stay ahead of the curve- with WebSphere software. Register now for access to the IBM Patterns for e-business Web site, and download a rich set of guidelines that can help you speed the development of e-business apps and reduce the code you have to write by 60-80%. For performance that can give you the edge in the next generation, the difference is Websphere software. https:// www.ibm.com/websphere/more35 **********************************************************adv.****

This week we have a special treat for you, a preview of Jeffrey Veen's new book, "The Art & Science of Web Design." Due in stores this week, Veen's new book takes a higher-level view of Web design and says designers today have to be like Web Renaissance men and women, well versed in the various aspects of Web publishing. We interview Jeffrey (of Wired fame), and also review and summarize his newest book.

We also have a lot of fresh code for you to play with, including Jonathan's latest Weblog, Peter's latest DHTML menus, and the Doc's Netscape 6 event scripting. Enjoy.

https://www.webreference.com *- link to us today https://www.webreference.com/new/ *- newsletter home https://www.webreference.com/new/submit.html *- submit article

New this week on WebReference.com and the Web:

1. INTERVIEW: Jeffrey Veen, author of "The Art & Science of Web Design" 2. PERL: Weblog 1.61 3. DHTML: DHTML Hierarchical Menus: Version 4.01 4. GRAPHICS: CorelDraw 101: Color Management Tools 5. JAVASCRIPT: Netscape 6, Part III: The Event Model 6. XML: XML and Java: A Match Made on the Internet 7. BOOK REVIEW: The Art & Science of Web Design 8. NEW LINKS: ASP Links 9. OTHER VOICES: * DOM XML: An Alternative to Expat

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. INTERVIEW: Jeffrey Veen, author of "The Art & Science of Web Design"

We interview Jeffrey Veen about his new book, and a new way at looking at Web design. Think liquid, rule-based, dynamic template- driven sites. By Andy King.

https://www.webreference.com/interviews/veen/

See also our book review below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. MOTHER OF PERL: Weblog 1.61

Add a "blog" to your site today. Weblog 1.61 is an open source script that manages RSS channels through an intuitive browser-based interface. Capable of generating multiple formats (HTML, RSS, Palm, WAP) Weblog makes updating your front page (and raising your traffic) a breeze. By Jonathan Eisenzopf.

https://www.webreference.com/perl/tutorial/18/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. DHTML LAB: DHTML Hierarchical Menus: Version 4.01

After much feedback, the first tweaks for HM4 are now available. Version 4.01 fixes a few bugs, answers your questions, and loads external files in a new way. By Peter Belesis.

https://www.webreference.com/dhtml/column44/

****************************************************************** BOT 2001 Seminar* January 25th at The Fairmont, San Francisco Expert bot/intelligent agent developers, researchers and academics present the latest happenings and give specific information for cost effective solutions to improve business. A rare opportunity to network, share ideas, and put theory and research into practice. Register today - space is limited! https://seminars.internet.com/bot/sf01/registration.html **********************************************************adv.****

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. PRODUCTION GRAPHICS: CorelDraw 101: Color Management Tools

Confused by CorelDraw's color options. Not anymore. Learn all about palettes and pick your favorite. By Wendy Peck.

https://www.webreference.com/graphics/corel101/3/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. DOC JAVASCRIPT: Netscape 6, Part III: The Event Model

Events in Netscape 6 bubble up like IE, and dive down like Netscape 4. Strap on your face mask for some JavaScript scuba lessons with your host, Dr. Yehuda Shiran.

https://www.webreference.com/js/column74/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6. EXPLORING XML: XML and Java: A Match Made on the Internet

Java and XML make a great combination for implementing distributed e-business applications. By Michael Classen.

https://www.webreference.com/xml/column27/

****************************************************************** ATTENTION WEB DEVELOPERS - Interested in turning your ordinary graphics into spectacular visual displays? Streamingmediaworld.com gives you the latest resources, techniques and tutorials for adding audio, video and flash to your web site. https://www.streamingmediaworld.com ***********************************************************adv.***

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7. BOOK REVIEW: The Art & Science of Web Design, by Jeffrey Veen

Jeffrey Veen is on a mission to make the Web a better place. His latest book, "The Art & Science of Web Design," came from a need he saw for a higher-level view of Web design: "I looked around at what Web design books were available, and saw a hole in the market." Veen was Executive Interface Director for Wired Digital, and the man behind Webmonkey, HotWired, and HotBot's designs.

For many of you, reading this book will be an "aha" experience. According to Veen, Web design is no longer logos and layouts, it now takes a multidisiplinary approach, with elements of information architecture, programming, and of course design. Veen says: "The line between design and programming is getting more and more blurry." The rare few who stretch beyond their comfort zones and learn these other disciplines can become design masters. Jeffrey Veen is such a person.

It's a different kind of Web design book. Veen doesn't dwell on technical details, he guides you towards more elegant solutions. He provides ways you can find the best solutions (interfaces etc.) through the use of heuristic usability and pattern matching, rather than the tedious testing promoted by the likes of Jakob Nielsen. It's a new design philosophy really, a more fluid approach with "intelligent content that can figure out how to display itself correctly" created from dynamic publishing systems (databases and scripted templates).

And Veen makes it look easy. Veen's final chapter on "Object- Oriented Publishing" ties it all together with a great example of a database-backed scripted template (using ASP) front-end to a church's sermon respository. He whipped the site up on his hard drive using low-cost tools, and shows how easy it can be to create a consistent look site-wide, lower maintenance costs, and easily add new "views" of your data. The benefit of separating presentation from content is that your site can more easily adapt to changing standards, and formats. Want a WAP feed? No problem, query the database with a different template, or even an XSL style sheet.

The days of large static sites are numbered. Going to "dynamic publishing" using a database gives your company a strategic advantage over your competition, as you can publish content faster, and change designs and formats much more efficiently. Your site comes alive. For an outstanding book like this one I provide a summary for your edification.

>Book Summary: What follows is a summary of the book, by chapter:

1. FOUNDATIONS - Good design comes from a deep understanding of the technologies behind the scenes.

The Web is based on ideas from the electronic publishing industry and SGML. Just as typesetters specified presentation in the margins, CSS specifies presentation of HTML's structure. CSS *abstracts* presentation from content and allows different presentations for different devices and formats from the same data. The Web is an interplay between structured content, visual presentation, and behavior (what he calls words, pictures, and code). This theme carries throughout the book. A good Web page is a blend of presentation, structure, and interaction.

2. INTERFACE CONSISTENCY - Learning from convention will make your site better.

You can exploit existing de facto Web conventions on your site to maintain an edge. Impatient users aren't interested in learning new ways of navigating your site. Your site is one of the millions out there, and certain interface conventions have emerged (link colors, page layouts, navigation systems, and visual hierarchy) that you need to follow. You are creating a set of internal conventions across your site, based on external conventions from the rest of the Web. Use Pattern language to help sift through the different interface possibilities. If you manage your users' expectations through consistency, those users respond. You build trust through consistency.

Think Mac. Learn how one program works, you know them all. Same for the de facto Web conventions. Think of the basic rules of consistency as context. See an octagon while driving, you know when to stop. See a blue underlined link, you know where to click. He does say you can change link colors, as long as their meaning is clear.