Member Avatar for DBB1

Hi !
Lately, I bought "The Complete Reference HTML & XHTML 4th Edition 2003 by Thomas A. Powell" to enhance my knowledge on this subject. It also covers CSS1 and CSS2.

Do you think this book is too old to learn HTML , XHTML & CSS ?

Thank you in advance.
Durga

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— short answer: the Powell 2003 book is a useful foundation, but it needs modern supplements.

and are right that older books teach reliable basics (document structure, element semantics, the box model and core selectors). and correctly note that the browser landscape and standards evolved a lot since 2003. The practical result: keep the book for fundamentals, but add up-to-date references and hands‑on practice for today’s workflows.

Key gaps to fill (topics unlikely to appear in a 2003 edition)

  • HTML5 semantic elements and modern form input types
  • Responsive design: meta viewport, media queries, mobile-first patterns
  • Modern layout: Flexbox and CSS Grid
  • CSS features: transitions, transforms, variables, custom properties, feature queries
  • Responsive images (srcset / picture) and performance techniques
  • Accessibility basics (ARIA, semantic roles) and modern testing
    To check current support for any feature, consult compatibility data on Can I Use. For authoritative, up-to-date specs and usage notes, use the living HTML spec at the WHATWG and practical docs on MDN Web Docs.

Practical way to use the book plus modern practice

  • Treat the book as the theory base.

  • Rebuild a small site from scratch using a modern HTML5 skeleton (example):

    <!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">
<title>Example</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
<header>…</header>
<main>…</main>
<footer>…</footer>
</body>
</html>

  • Use feature queries for graceful enhancement:

    @supports (display: grid) {
.layout { display: grid; }
}

  • Validate markup (validator.w3.org), test in current browsers and on real devices, and consult MDN/CanIUse for fallbacks.

Conclusion: the 2003 book is not “bad” — it’s a solid primer. Combining it with modern docs and a few practical rebuild exercises quickly brings that knowledge up to current UI/UX and production standards.

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Member Avatar for Romil797

Probably not, even though 2003 was 7 years ago, HTML and CSS don't change that much. If you go to archive.org, you can see how pages were in 2003 via the wayback machine. Here's yahoo!
http://web.archive.org/web/20030216171355/www.yahoo.com/
It doesn't look good because it can not display the background image and images, etc.

Member Avatar for scottloway

I think it would be fine as a starting point, but you'll want to extend your learning through updated information.

Your biggest issue will be the differences in how browsers render code - Even if HTML and CSS didn't change (which they have to varying degrees), the browser environments have changed drastically since 2003. Additionally, there are exciting recent developments in web such as HTML5, CSS3, (though neither are fully supported), and a plethora of javascript and CSS frameworks.

Most importantly, have fun!

Member Avatar for gruffy321

Hello mat e ...no i believe any book can help and in some cases the older books help more due to relative guarantee that if it was designed to work back then it more than likely works now in later browsers etc. Obviously coding conventions regarding deprecatin need to be taken into consideration but this i find minimal in contrast to the amount of help an established(aged) book in this sector can give you. I would suggest any old visual quickstart books and i have one from 1999 on javascript functions which has helped no end in understanding javasript coding and use of the DOM at a basic level, which is where you have to start in my humble opinion, and as i mentioned above.... nine times out of ten the code in the older book will work without flaw in older browsers. Question???.....why do people feel updating their browser version is a bad thing, i cant wait for updates but people i know say " oooh no im not gonna update my browser i like the one i have" at this point in conversation with them i usually just shut up as its too much for them to take in the idea its the same browser but bug fixes and more secure experience etc........they often melt into ignorance and continue in their bliss believing they know best .....hey ho . anyway yes old books are good books, new books are for those who have read the old ones.

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Member Avatar for drjohn

html 4.01 was published in December 1999, and the last errata to the published details was may 2001
according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML

So it covers the current version that we all use.

XHTML is a dead end that offers nothing of use beyond HTML, because it is almost always served as HTML ! So using it is a waste of time.

CSS level 2 was developed by the W3C and published as a Recommendation in May 1998, according to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS2#CSS_2

As no browser fully supports CSS3 AND, more importantly, CSS3 is no where near being finalised for several years, then the CSS will still be valid. Using CSS3 is risky as the commonest browsers simply do not support it! So your book will not teach you anything that is not supported any more.

The only problem might be if it uses code to get round problems in older browsers that no-one uses any more eg code to fix IE5.5 or earlier (yes, IE6 is still being used by about 10-15% of the population, so you have to support that as well). Removing a hack might make another hack break down.

But to learn html and css, it is as up to date as you need.

The only thing it may do differently is use techniques that have been improved upon.

The standard advice is avoid using tables for layout - tables are for showing tables of data, not page layout, and avoid using inline styles, use an external stylesheet.

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