As more people decide to move into the world of home page production for the World Wide Web, resources such as this are certainly part of the essential toolkit for sanity in construction. Microsoft FrontPage is one of a suite of Web publishers on the market that aim to take the pain out of HTML coding, particularly for the novice designer.
This book makes using FrontPage 97 for Web construction a productive process by leading the user through the process with clear step‐by‐step instructions. Included along the way are good hints, explanations of key terms, tips and tricks, caution notes and question and answer snippets. All these could create confusion. However, the layout is tidy, with clear use of tables, figures and white space for clarity. The content covered by the book is extensive, and covers all detail of Web construction, including the all‐important aspect of design for a virtual environment. Readers are introduced to graphics, video, sound, colours and tables.
The style of the book is easy‐going, adopting an encouraging (American) conversational tone. This will not appeal to those who prefer a solid technical manual. However, the advantage of this style lies in making the content accessible and non‐threatening to the technologically challenged. This book also takes the time to explain the merits of WebBots (prefabricated bits of programming code) for site maintenance and automating of routine tasks, such as showing the date that the site was last updated. It also explains how FrontPage’s Search WebBot creates a search feature for users automatically, without any programming. While many professional and experienced Web wizards regularly utilise a program such as FrontPage 97, Maloney and Nossiter remember that the novice will eventually need all the information too. In addition, issues of intra‐ and inter‐networking are covered, and jargon clarified. The technical and practical aspects of Web publishing are also covered, including the use of Microsoft Personal Server. With all this information, teachers and teacher‐librarians buying copies for personal use will appreciate the wide margins for ease of annotation.
A book like this will need to go into all library collections that support software users, as Microsoft products have a firm following.
