The Art & Science of CSS brings together a talented collection of designers who will show you how to take the building blocks of your web site's design (such as headings, navigation, forms, and more) and bring them to life with fully standards-compliant CSS.This full color book helps you to design web sites that not only work well across all browsers, are easy to maintain, and are highly accessible, but are also visually stunning.Create truly attention-grabbing headings.Discover multiple ways to present images effectively.Use background images to give your site zest.Build usable and attractive navigation.Design forms that are stylish and functional.Learn how to break away from the square box gclich.Create funky tables.And lots moreFrom the PublisherJonathan Snook, Steve Smith, Jina Bolton, Cameron Adams, and David Johnson, five of the biggest names in CSS design have joined forces to bring you The Art & Science Of CSS.Beautifully presented in full color, this book will teach you how to apply innovative CSS-based techniques to create visually stunning headings, forms, menus, navigation, backgrounds, and much more...Using The Art & Science Of CSS, you'll see just how easy it is to unleash your creative talents and design inspirational web sites with CSS.All designs in this book are visually appealing and inspiring. The CSS code used to create each of the components is included and guaranteed to be simple, efficient and cross-browser compatible.Among its many treasures, this book will show you how to: Format calendars, menus and table of contents using CSSCreate horizontal, vertical and tab-based navigation systems using CSSCreate rounded corners using CSSDesign stylish Website headingsPut together funky & artistic Website backgroundsUse CSS to render blockquotes, dates and lists in a visually appealing mannerAll designs in this book are visually appealing and inspiring. The code CSS code used to create each of the components is provided and is guaranteed to be simple, efficient and cross-browser compatible.Who Should Read This Book?This book is ideal for anyone who wants to gain the practical skills involved in using CSS to make attractive web sites, especially if you're not the type who likes to learn by memorizing a formal specification and then trying to work out which browsers implemented it completely (does anyone enjoy reading specifications?). The only knowledge you'll need to have is some familiarity with HTML. This book will give designers the skills they need to implement their ideas, and provides developers with creative inspiration through practical examples.

    Users demand software that is well-behaved, good-looking, and easy to use. Your clients or managers demand originality and a short time to market. Your UI technology -- web applications, desktop software, even mobile devices -- may give you the tools you need, but little guidance on how to use them well.UI designers over the years have refined the art of interface design, evolving many best practices and reusable ideas. If you learn these, and understand why the best user interfaces work so well, you too can design engaging and usable interfaces with less guesswork and more confidence.Designing Interfaces captures those best practices as design patterns -- solutions to common design problems, tailored to the situation at hand. Each pattern contains practical advice that you can put to use immediately, plus a variety of examples illustrated in full color. You'll get recommendations, design alternatives, and warnings on when not to use them.Each chapter's introduction describes key design concepts that are often misunderstood, such as affordances, visual hierarchy, navigational distance, and the use of color. These give you a deeper understanding of why the patterns work, and how to apply them with more insight.A book can't design an interface for you -- no foolproof design process is given here -- but Designing Interfaces does give you concrete ideas that you can mix and recombine as you see fit. Experienced designers can use it as a sourcebook of ideas. Novice designers will find a roadmap to the world of interface and interaction design, with enough guidance to start using these patterns immediately.

    Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it’s one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.In this 3rd edition, Steve returns with fresh perspective to reexamine the principles that made Don’t Make Me Think a classic-–with updated examples and a new chapter on mobile usability. And it’s still short, profusely illustrated…and best of all–fun to read.If you’ve read it before, you’ll rediscover what made Don’t Make Me Think so essential to Web designers and developers around the world. If you’ve never read it, you’ll see why so many people have said it should be required reading for anyone working on Web sites.

    This book aims to minimize the complexity of user-centered design for the Web with explanations and illustrations that focus on ideas rather than tools or techniques.

    This concise book guides you into and through JavaScript, written by a veteran programmer who once found himself in the same position. Speaking JavaScript helps you approach the language with four standalone sections. First, a quick-start guide teaches you just enough of the language to help you be productive right away. More experienced JavaScript programmers will find a complete and easy-to-read reference that covers each language feature in depth. Complete contents include: JavaScript quick start: Familiar with object-oriented programming? This part helps you learn JavaScript quickly and properly. JavaScript in depth: Learn details of ECMAScript 5, from syntax, variables, functions, and object-oriented programming to regular expressions and JSON with lots of examples. Pick a topic and jump in. Background: Understand JavaScript’s history and its relationship with other programming languages. Tips, tools, and libraries: Survey existing style guides, best practices, advanced techniques, module systems, package managers, build tools, and learning resources.

    It's a beautifully written tutorial that begins with the basic steps to get your first Ruby program up and running and goes on to explore sophisticated topics like callable objects, reflection, and threading. Whether the topic is simple or tough, the book's easy-to-follow examples and explanations will give you immediate confidence as you build your Ruby programming skills.The Well-Grounded Rubyist is a thoroughly revised and updated edition of the best-selling Ruby for Rails. In this new book, expert author David A. Black moves beyond Rails and presents a broader view of Ruby. It covers Ruby 1.9, and keeps the same sharp focus and clear writing that made Ruby for Rails stand out.Starting with the basics, The Well-Grounded Rubyist explains Ruby objects and their interactions from the ground up. In the middle chapters, the book turns to an examination of Ruby's built-in, core classes, showing the reader how to manipulate strings, numbers, arrays, ranges, hashes, sets, and more. Regular expressions get attention, as do file and other I/O operations.Along the way, the reader is introduced to numerous tools included in the standard Ruby distribution--tools like the task manager Rake and the interactive Ruby console-based interpreter Irb--that facilitate Ruby development and make it an integrated and pleasant experience.The book encompasses advanced topics, like the design of Ruby's class and module system, and the use of Ruby threads, taking even the new Rubyist deep into the language and giving every reader the foundations necessary to use, explore, and enjoy this unusually popular and versatile language.It's no wonder one reader commented: "The technical depth is just right to not distract beginners, yet detailed enough for more advanced readers."Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.

    First you'll learn how to apply BDD to requirements analysis to define features that focus your development efforts on underlying business goals. Then, you'll discover how to automate acceptance criteria and use tests to guide and report on the development process. Along the way, you'll apply BDD principles at the coding level to write more maintainable and better documented code.Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.About the TechnologyYou can't write good software if you don't understand what it's supposed to do. Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) encourages teams to use conversation and concrete examples to build up a shared understanding of how an application should work and which features really matter. With an emerging body of best practices and sophisticated new tools that assist in requirement analysis and test automation, BDD has become a hot, mainstream practice.About the BookBDD in Action teaches you BDD principles and practices and shows you how to integrate them into your existing development process, no matter what language you use. First, you'll apply BDD to requirements analysis so you can focus your development efforts on underlying business goals. Then, you'll discover how to automate acceptance criteria and use tests to guide and report on the development process. Along the way, you'll apply BDD principles at the coding level to write more maintainable and better documented code. No prior experience with BDD is required.What's InsideBDD theory and practiceHow BDD will affect your teamBDD for acceptance, integration, and unit testingExamples in Java, .NET, JavaScript, and moreReporting and living documentationAbout the AuthorJohn Ferguson Smart is a specialist in BDD, automated testing, and software lifecycle development optimization. Table of ContentsPART 1: FIRST STEPSBuilding software that makes a differenceBDD—the whirlwind tourPART 2: WHAT DO I WANT? DEFINING REQUIREMENTS USING BDDUnderstanding the business goals: Feature Injection and related techniquesDefining and illustrating featuresFrom examples to executable specificationsAutomating the scenariosPART 3: HOW DO I BUILD IT? CODING THE BDD WAYFrom executable specifications to rock-solid automated acceptance testsAutomating acceptance criteria for the UI layerAutomating acceptance criteria for non-UI requirementsBDD and unit testingPART 4: TAKING BDD FURTHERLiving Documentation: reporting and project managementBDD in the build process

    Although dashboards are potentially powerful, this potential is rarely realized. The greatest display technology in the world won't solve this if you fail to use effective visual design. And if a dashboard fails to tell you precisely what you need to know in an instant, you'll never use it, even if it's filled with cute gauges, meters, and traffic lights. Don't let your investment in dashboard technology go to waste.This book will teach you the visual design skills you need to create dashboards that communicate clearly, rapidly, and compellingly. Information Dashboard Design will explain how to:Avoid the thirteen mistakes common to dashboard design Provide viewers with the information they need quickly and clearly Apply what we now know about visual perception to the visual presentation of information Minimize distractions, cliches, and unnecessary embellishments that create confusion Organize business information to support meaning and usability Create an aesthetically pleasing viewing experience Maintain consistency of design to provide accurate interpretation Optimize the power of dashboard technology by pairing it with visual effectiveness Stephen Few has over 20 years of experience as an IT innovator, consultant, and educator. As Principal of the consultancy Perceptual Edge, Stephen focuses on data visualization for analyzing and communicating quantitative business information. He provides consulting and training services, speaks frequently at conferences, and teaches in the MBA program at the University of California in Berkeley. He is also the author of Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten. Visit his website at www.perceptualedge.com.

    Writing code that handles unexpected errors and still works is really hard. Most of us learn by trial and error. This short book removes the uncertainty. With over 100 pages of content and dozens of working examples, you’ll learn everything from the mechanics of how exceptions work to how to design a robust failure management architecture for your app or library. Whether you are a Ruby novice or a seasoned veteran, Exceptional Ruby will help you write cleaner, more resilient Ruby code.

    Each topic illustrated with pointed examples. You’ll also get a thorough reference to the Underscore.js library and its idioms, including:ClosuresApplicative programmingLazinessImmutabilityHigher-order functionsPurityCombinatorsCurrying and partial application

    Featuring five sections, each covering a core aspect of graphic design: Getting Started, Research, Typography, Colour, and Layout. Learn solid graphic design theory that you can simply apply to your designs, making the difference from a good design to a great one.http://designingfortheweb.co.uk

    Previously undocumented, these 23 patterns allow designers to create more flexible, elegant, and ultimately reusable designs without having to rediscover the design solutions themselves.The authors begin by describing what patterns are and how they can help you design object-oriented software. They then go on to systematically name, explain, evaluate, and catalog recurring designs in object-oriented systems. With Design Patterns as your guide, you will learn how these important patterns fit into the software development process, and how you can leverage them to solve your own design problems most efficiently. Each pattern describes the circumstances in which it is applicable, when it can be applied in view of other design constraints, and the consequences and trade-offs of using the pattern within a larger design. All patterns are compiled from real systems and are based on real-world examples. Each pattern also includes code that demonstrates how it may be implemented in object-oriented programming languages like C++ or Smalltalk.

    This book is an insider's guide to these little understood topics.Author Jeremy Zawodny has managed large numbers of MySQL servers for mission-critical work at Yahoo!, maintained years of contacts with the MySQL AB team, and presents regularly at conferences. Jeremy and Derek have spent months experimenting, interviewing major users of MySQL, talking to MySQL AB, benchmarking, and writing some of their own tools in order to produce the information in this book.In "High Performance MySQL" you will learn about MySQL indexing and optimization in depth so you can make better use of these key features. You will learn practical replication, backup, and load-balancing strategies with information that goes beyond available tools to discuss their effects in real-life environments. And you'll learn the supporting techniques you need to carry out these tasks, including advanced configuration, benchmarking, and investigating logs.Topics include: A review of configuration and setup optionsStorage engines and table typesBenchmarkingIndexesQuery OptimizationApplication DesignServer PerformanceReplicationLoad-balancingBackup and RecoverySecurity

    This Missing Manual shows you how to take your HTML and CSS skills to the next level, with valuable tips, tricks, and step-by-step instructions. You’ll quickly learn how to build web pages that look great and run fast on devices and screens of all sizes.The important stuff you need to know:Start with the basics. Write CSS3-friendly HTML, including the HTML5 tags recognized by today’s browsers.Apply real-world design. Format text, create navigation tools, and enhance pages with graphics.Make your pages lively. Create eye-catching animations and give your visitors attractive tables and forms.Take control of page layouts. Use professional design techniques such as floats and positioning.Look great on any device. Craft websites that adapt to desktop, tablet, and mobile browsers.Get advanced techniques. Use CSS3 more effectively and efficiently, and ensure that your web pages look good when printed.

    Until now, all it's been missing is a manual. With this thorough, jargon-free guide, you'll learn how to build web apps that include video tools, dynamic drawings, geolocation, offline web apps, drag-and-drop, and many other features. HTML5 is the future of the Web, and with this book you'll reach it quickly.The important stuff you need to know:Structure web pages in a new way. Learn how HTML5 helps make web design tools and search engines work smarter.Add audio and video without plugins. Build playback pages that work in every browser.Draw with Canvas. Create shapes, pictures, text, and animation—and make them interactive.Go a long way with style. Use CSS3 and HTML5 to jazz up your pages and adapt them for mobile devices.Build web apps with rich desktop features. Let users work with your app offline, and process user-selected files in the browser.Create location-aware apps. Write geolocation applications directly in the browser.