Rating: 
Summary: Essential Reading
Review: Apart from the glitches on the CD-ROM where certain images and chapters have been omitted, I unhesitatingly recommend this masterpiece.While not exhaustive, it supplies sufficient information to get going. It is beautifully illustrated and the text is easy to read. It will be the one reference source for a long time to come. Some URLs supplied in the book have been changed since printing.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Great book. Too thick, too heavy and too expensive but has a chapter on almost any web development topic you can think of. It has become known here as "The Bible". I bought it for a couple of the topics in it and was very happy with its coverage of them. Since then I have looked in it many times and found more useful topics.
Rating: 
Summary: Excllent reference, good intro to DHTML & XML, CD++
Review: Having read several books on HTML & XML, including the Laura Lemay series, and living most evenings in RFC's and the W3C online documentation, I have found that this is an excellent reference manual to lay flat when I am online and need something quickly explained. The basics of XML are well thought out, as are the intro chapters on JavaScript. I particulary liked the CDROM with it's extensive collection of other QUE titles and source in electronic format (pdf and html).
Rating:
Summary: Written for someone who wants to learn quickly.
Review: However, even though I originally purchased this book for the XML, I also read the JavaScript chapters and found it to be very informative and easy to read. Unfortunately, there were errors in the sample code. Nevertheless, they were luckily easy to figure out. I pretty much have a full grasp on JavaScript and am now moving on to full Java 1.2. Now, this book shouldn't be used to REALLY learn Java, but it is a good primer for it. Highly suggest getting a full blown book for that. This is an excellent book otherwise. Anyone with experience programming in other languages like C, or VB won't have a single problem with the languages covered in this book.
Rating:
Summary: excelent book in all respects
Review: I am professional web developer and have been using this book for already a year. It is exellent as an introductory book and then as an everyday reference. For some resons its coverage of JavaScript is not displayed in the book name, but this is the best book I have found about JavaScript and its integrations with browsers.
Rating: 
Summary: combines many web technologies into one bad book
Review: I look through the book and start to wonder where the content is. excluding the appendices, there are 1176 pages of generalizations which amount to nothing. 1176 pages of material that begs to be covered thoroughly, but which is constantly let down. you're not going to learn java in six chapters; you're going to learn it in 21 chapters from Java 2 in 21 Days by Lemay and Cadenhead. you may not even learn it 21 chapters, but you'll be better off than six. you won't learn javascript from chapter 18; you'll learn it from Javascript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan. you'll learn CGI from CGI Programming with Perl 5 in a Week by Eric Herrmann, not from chapters 28-35. you'll get by learning HTML from this book, but HTML: The Definitive Guide by Chuck Musciano is a more informative read. all of the topics are covered briefly. I feel like I'm reading the book so I'm able to say that I'm reading the book, not so I can say that I understand the book, or that I like the book. it's like buying a dope all-in-one entertainment system. the brand you're buying may be only known for their VCR's, so really, you're getting jipped out of quality speakers and a quality stereo. this is unavoidable in big books like "Platinum Edition: Using HTML..."; these authors can't possibly claim that they understand each individual topic better than people who written books solely on those topics. am I digressing? in short, you're not saving any money by buying this book.
Rating:
Summary: combines many web technologies into one bad book
Review: I look through the book and start to wonder where the content is. excluding the appendices, there are 1176 pages of generalizations which amount to nothing. 1176 pages of material that begs to be covered thoroughly, but which is constantly let down. you're not going to learn java in six chapters; you're going to learn it in 21 chapters from Java 2 in 21 Days by Lemay and Cadenhead. you may not even learn it 21 chapters, but you'll be better off than six. you won't learn javascript from chapter 18; you'll learn it from Javascript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan. you'll learn CGI from CGI Programming with Perl 5 in a Week by Eric Herrmann, not from chapters 28-35. you'll get by learning HTML from this book, but HTML: The Definitive Guide by Chuck Musciano is a more informative read. all of the topics are covered briefly. I feel like I'm reading the book so I'm able to say that I'm reading the book, not so I can say that I understand the book, or that I like the book. it's like buying a dope all-in-one entertainment system. the brand you're buying may be only known for their VCR's, so really, you're getting jipped out of quality speakers and a quality stereo. this is unavoidable in big books like "Platinum Edition: Using HTML..."; these authors can't possibly claim that they understand each individual topic better than people who written books solely on those topics. am I digressing? in short, you're not saving any money by buying this book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Java part isn't bad for just a short overview
Review: I only read the Java part (appr. 200 pages) of the book - so I only judge the book's discussing Java. All the chapters have been written by the author of Que's Using Java 1.2, Mike Morgan, which has a positive impact on the overall quality of the discussion - far superior to that of, say, Wiley's Java 1.2 and Javascript for C and C++ Programmers. Doesn't beat Core Java / Thinking in Java / Just Java though. Chapter 36 (again, I only review the Java part!): What's new in Java?: general buzzwords; lists what Java2 has: security (2 pp.), JFC (2 pp.), Collections (1 pp.), audio enhancements (some rows), performance enhancements (2 pp.), Java IDL (2 pp.) Chapter 37: Basic language constructs and JDK install: it's very terse. Lists all the basic types and the control flow keywords (has labeled break but lacks labeled continue). After these two pages, the ubiquitous Hello World applet comes. p. 997: "when [the applet window] becomes visible, ... Applet calls ... repaint()" - again, paint() will be called, and definitely not repaint(). p. 998: when introducing applets, also mentions constructors (remember: an applet constructor gets called before setting up the applet context, so calls depending on it - like getImage() - will fail) - fortunately, tells the user in the caution following this subsection that init() should be used instead in an applet. Unluckily, the explanation why this is necessary is flawed: "not all browsers load and unload applets in the same way.". There're three quite big, sample applets in the book after introducing the key applet methods - one of them being the Great Thread Race (from Que's Using Java 1.2 - Special Edition). The chapter ends with a 1-page-long discussion of how the Hello World applet should be converted to an application - doesn't try to explain it in general, unlike e.g. Core Java. Chapter 38: User Input and Interactivity with Java: AWT: only lists the component classes, doesn't explain anything (half a page); 1.1 events (1.5 pp.) - no examples either. Presents a big example (HelloPlus) with a lot of event handling & GUI widgets and thoroughly explains it (the explanation is far superior to those of, say, Wiley's Java 1.2 and Javascript for C and C++ Programmers's or The Waite Group's Java 1.2 How-To's most examples). Layout managers are presented next (9 pages, everything, no Box) and then, AWT dialogs in a separate subsection (p. 1050: the same error as in Using Java 1.2: "because dialogs cannot belong to applets, your use of dialogs can be somewhat limited".). Swing follows (24 pp.): packages, widgets (only a list), look-and-feel, icons, JLabel, JButton, JCheckBox, JToggleButton, managing text (1 pp.: JTextField, JTextArea, JTextPane, JPasswordField), JProgressBar, toolbars, tooltips, tabbed pane (0.5 pp.). 1.5 pages are devoted to Swing events and 4 pages for drag-and-drop. Chapter 39: Graphics and Animation: wastes 11 pages on Graphics's methods; Color (3 pp.); displaying text (6 pp., inclusing the explanation of the String and the Font classes). Displaying images follows (3 pp.), adding animation (8 pp. With double buffering), Java2D (8 pp., tolerable). Chapter 40: Networking (20 pp.): URL (showDocument() etc), Socket. The c/s application using Socket is a quite simple one - it just passes a Date. It was the only server program I've ever seen that used a thread to wrap the waiting for the incoming client requests in a thread. Of course, under Windows, it has no advantage over the normal type of single-threaded servers (this example isn't multithreaded). UDP is also discussed and some security considerations while accessing the Net from an applet. Chapter 41: Security: 34 pp. For the size (200 pp.), this introduction wasn't that bad - actually, I liked it. You wont understand OOP or the language from it at all - the author refers the reader to his previous work, Using Java 1.2, where it's necessary. In a word - don't throw the book away if you get it as a present. As only few aspects of the language is explained (no streams, no multithreading, no language basics, no OOP), the book shouldn't be compared to full-fledged Java books.
Rating:
Summary: If you need direction, this is the map....
Review: If you are looking for the path to dynamic content, this book is a great way to get your feet wet without drowning in a sea of highbrow terminology. For those of us who just got comfortable with HTML 3.2, this is a wonderful way to explore the other facets of web design. I Enjoyed the basic start and detailed endings to each section. It effectively builds upon the previous information to speed you along your way to interactive Web Design.
Rating:
Summary: Talk about a great reference tool!
Review: Not only was this book useful for finding any info I needed while I was writing my pages, I also learned JavaScript, Java, and VRML. Get this book, a book on Perl CGI, and a VBScript book, and you can do just about anything in the way of web programming!
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