Rating:  - Great, single source reference
I use this book as my first point of reference for all those technical details regarding HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, and the Document Object Model (DOM). What I really like about this reference tome (1000+ pages) is how every element, tag, attribute, etc. clearly denotes which browser/browser version supports the item. It's nice to be able to carry around a single book that can answer so many questions. Highly recommended.
Rating: - Exceptionally good
Goodman must have invested an astonishing amount of grunt work in compiling the reference material, but it's not just the content that sets this book apart; the layout and index are also excellent.
This is among the very best reference books I've ever used, but don't mistake it for anything else. It's not a tutorial.
My only caveat is that the book's coverage of JavaScript is rather superficial.
Rating: - Best. Reference. Evar!
As a web applications developer, I am constantly enveloped in DHTML.
This book is a lifesaver. This book is not just recommended for all UI developers, it is an absolute *necessity*. The book itself is not so significant in what you learn from it. Goodman only spends 186 pages on the practice of DHTML, but the rest of this 1343 (not including index) behemoth is dedicated to pure, unadulterated information.
Yeah, lots of books have lots of information. What makes this book unique is:
1. The excellent organization of this information
2. The depth of this information
3. The accuracy of this information
4. The relevance of this information (even though the second edition came out in 2002)
This book is an absolute necessity, even more so for anyone doing cross browser DHTML. One of the great things about this book is how Goodman has gone out of his way to emphasize compatability of elements, CSS, and JavaScript between the two major browers (Netscape and IE).
Like others have mentioned, this book is *not* meant for newbies. It is *not* designed to help you learn HTML, JavaScript, or CSS. It is what it is: a reference book. This book can be used by newbies, but should only be used as a companion reference to more accessible books (try HTML Goodies by Joe Burns). For seasoned DHTML programmers, this book is the best of its kind and an absolute necessity.
Rating: - An amazing book!
I bought this book to learn how to create a new menu system for a web site that I'm working on, and I certainly don't regret the choice. Danny Goodman's book does a very good job of covering Dynamic HTML (DHTML), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), DOM (Document Object Model) and even JavaScript.
The amount of information in this book is incredible. 1400 pages! (Not 1500, as currently indicated at Amazon.com, incidentally, but 1400 is sufficient.)
Mr. Goodman explains the current situation, where Microsoft's Internet Explorer follows one "standard" and the other browsers follow the W3C standards to varying degrees. He also indicates which version of MS IE first began to support each feature, allowing you to decide whether you want to use some feature that some of your clients' older browsers may not support. This kind of information is invaluable if you want to make your web site cross-browser compatible, including support for Macintosh, Unix, Linux, etc., as well as Windows.
My only criticism is that the book is unfortunately becoming a bit dated. It was published in Sept. 2002 so it obviously can't contain any information about the latest versions of web browsers. On the other hand, Microsoft has not released any new version of IE for over two years, so it's only information about the latest versions of Netscape and other browsers that is missing.
One additional thing I liked about this book was that Danny Goodman sometimes uses an almost poetic English, something rather unusual in a technology book. A couple of examples from page 19: "... can be a challenge unto itself." "If the inexorable flow of new browser versions..."
Highly recommended if you are making web pages that require the use of Dynamic HTML.
Rennie Petersen
Rating: - Worth every cent
I bought the first edition of this book a few years ago, and found it the best reference book I every had. In the first chapters, Danny Goodman has an excellent way of explaining the differences between browser versions and the history/reasoning behind them. These chapters in the second revision of the book are a must-read for those who want to clear up their confusion about the "old" Netscape/IE differences and the new standards that Netscape 6+/IE/w3c are finally starting to comply with.
For someone into editing HTML/css/JavaScript, I haven't come across a better reference book yet. It is also one of the few books that gives practical hints on creating pages that work on all browsers AND platforms. I admire Danny Goodman for taking on the enormous challenge that writing this book imposed.
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