HTML Writers Guild Newsletter
Volume 4 Number 12, December 1998
http://www.hwg.org/
editor@hwg.org
Table of Contents
1. Learn Perl, CSS, Javascript and HTML -- Enroll Now!
2. W3C Requests Your Input: The Future of CSS
3. Meet the Board -- Virtually -- at the January Town Hall Meeting
4. Special Feature: Quick Tips for Designing Accessible Web Pages
5. Upgrade To Full HWG Membership Today!
6. Subscription Info: The HWG-News Newsletter FAQs
This issue of HWG-News is sponsored by:
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1. Learn Perl, CSS, Javascript and HTML -- Enroll Now!
(Ann Navarro, Online Classes Manager, classes@hwg.org)
Through our Online Classes program, the Guild offers you the
opportunity to improve your skills in the craft of web authoring.
Whether you're a beginner on your first web page or a seasoned
professional, we are here to help you expand your knowledge and
experience under the tutelage of skilled fellow Guild members.
The Guild is offering the following courses in January and
February (you can enroll online now!):
INTRODUCTION TO PERL PROGRAMMING
Dates: January 4, 1999 - February 19, 1999
(7 weeks)
Learn the basics of the Perl programming language, popular for
CGI programming, system administration, and a variety of other
tasks. The course will cover the fundamentals of the language,
such as variables, looping and conditional structures, regular
expressions, modules, database communication, and very basic CGI
programming. Note that this is NOT a CGI course.
Prerequisites: You should have Perl installed on your machine,
or have remote access to a machine where you can use Perl. You
should have a HTTP (web) server installed on your machine, or have
access to a HTTP server.
HWG member Rich Bowen is the instructor for this course.
INTRODUCTION TO CASCADING STYLE SHEETS
Dates: January 4, 1999 - February 12, 1999
(6 weeks)
HTML 4.0 Strict relies on Style Sheets for all stylistic
presentation, the Web Accessibility Initiative makes use of CSS
for improving access by users with disabilities, dynamic HTML
relies heavily on style manipulation to create exciting pages,
and new work on HTML and XML will continue to make heavy use of
stylesheets in the future. This is the time to learn CSS! In
this course, you will learn how to separate style from structure
and craft visually appealing and functional web pages. The course
covers both Cascading Style Sheets and the recently approved
Cascading Style Sheets Level 2.
Prerequisites: Students should be comfortable with basic to
intermediate level HTML, similar to the content in HWG Education
course H101: Introduction to HTML 4.0. Students will also need to
have a stylesheets-enabled browser, such as Internet Explorer 4.x
or 5.x, Netscape Navigator 4.x, or Opera 3.5.
HWG member Kynn Bartlett is the instructor for this course.
INTRODUCTION TO JAVASCRIPT
Dates: January 11, 1999 - February 19, 1999
(6 weeks)
Designed for the student with little or no working knowledge of
JavaScript. Students will learn JavaScript structure and syntax,
how to interact with environment variables, use event handlers,
perform form validation, create rollover effects, and work with
cookies.
Prerequisites: Students should have a solid foundation in HTML,
some knowledge of forms (and be prepared to learn more). Students
should have both Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape
Navigator 4.0 installed for script testing, as well as web space
for posting completed assignments.
HWG member Marshall Jansen is the instructor for this course.
INTRODUCTION TO HTML 4.0
Dates: February 1, 1999 - March 12, 1999
(6 weeks)
Designed for the student with little to no working knowledge of
creating HTML files "by hand." If you're looking to learn HTML
from scratch or move beyond using a WYSIWYG (what you see is
what you get) editing tool, this is the class for you. Students
will be introduced to the structure of HTML documents, good
markup techniques, and the concept of validation. Functional
topics will include text formatting, using lists, tables, and
an introduction to Cascading Style Sheets.
HWG member Ann Navarro is the instructor for this course.
COURSE FEES
For all courses, Full and Discounted members may register for $25,
Trial members for $50. Upgrade your membership before registering,
and save! Payments may be made online via secure transaction; all
figures are in U.S. funds.
A certificate of completion is available for an additional $5;
the request needs to be made at the time of registration. Textbooks
(when required) are separate and may be purchased through the Guild's
online bookstore, The Bookmark. Students should have regular access
to the web and the ability to post completed assignments on a
public (non-Intranet) web server.
Sign up today through our online enrollment forms or get more
information at:
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/
2. W3C Requests Your Input: The Future of CSS
(Kynn Bartlett, HWG President, president@hwg.org)
The following announcement was written by Bert Bos of the World
Wide Web Consortium:
When the CSS & FP WG [Cascading Style Sheets and Formatting
Properties Working Group, of the W3C] worked on CSS, it published
a Note with many suggestions for new features that it might or might
not incorporate into CSS2. Some of them made it into CSS2, some
didn't. The WG is now working on the successor to CSS2 and it is
doing the same thing. This time, however, the list is much longer.
The new list incorporates a form for feedback, to make it easier for
people to make their priorities known. The WG wants to use the
feedback it receives to help it decide on the most important areas
in which CSS needs improvements.
The suggestions in the list range from support for columns,
footnotes and page numbers, to pop-ups, drop-down menus and other
"interactive" presentation styles.
http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-CSS-potential
All Guild members are invited to look over the URL above and give
their feedback to the World Wide Web Consortium. Discussions on
the Guild's mailing lists, such as HWG-Standards, are also welcome.
The HWG joined the W3C in early 1998 and is the only association
of HTML authors to do so, giving the web designers of the world a
voice in the international standards process.
For more information on the Guild's membership in the W3C, see:
http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/w3c/
For details on the HWG-Standards mailing list, please see:
http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-standards/
3. Meet the Board -- Virtually -- at the January Town Hall Meeting
(Kynn Bartlett, HWG President, president@hwg.org)
Each month, the Guild provides an opportunity for real-time discussion
and chatting via HWG Interactive. These monthly meetings are hosted by
members of the Governing Board (with most of them in attendance),
and give our members the chance to voice your views about the HWG.
The details for January's meeting are:
28 January Town Hall Meeting
Date: Thursday, 28 January 1999
Time: 6:30 p.m. PST, 9:30 p.m. EST, 02:30 (29 January) GMT
Server: HWG Interactive, http://interact.hwg.org/
Room: Meeting Hall
To connect, surf to the URL above for HWG Interactive, and create a
HWG Interactive account, if you don't have one from a previous
meeting. (This will not be the same as your HWG member id and password.)
We look forward to meeting you there!
This issue of HWG-News is sponsored by:
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4. Special Feature: Quick Tips for Designing Accessible Web Pages
The W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative has developed a short list
of tips that can make your pages accessible to a wider audience;
these tips are presented here as a special article. The original
list can be found at:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/QuickTips
WAI QUICK TIPS REFERENCE LIST
Judy Brewer , WAI Domain Leader
November 18, 1998
About the Quick Tips Reference List
The WAI Quick Tips reference is a concise summary of a few key
design principles for making Web sites accessible to people
with disabilities and more usable for everyone. The Quick Tips
are based on the WAI Page Author Guidelines, developed by the
WAI Education & Outreach Working Group, and meant only to help
you remember some principles of accessible design. We strongly
recommend that you read the complete WAI Page Author Guidelines
and techniques document to understand what is behind these quick
tips. You can find the current Page Author Guidelines at:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/
Quick tips to make your Web site accessible to everyone, including
people with disabilities, handheld devices & slow connections
1. Images, Photographs & Animations
Use the alt attribute to concisely describe the function of all
visuals.
2. Page Orientation
Use headings, lists, table summaries, and clear and consistent
page structure to make pages quick to scan.
3. Imagemaps
Many people cannot use a mouse. Use client-side MAP to provide
alternative text for imagemap hotspots.
4. Hypertext Links
Descriptive link text improves access for those who cannot see.
Ensure that each link makes sense when read alone.
5. Graphs & Charts
Summarize Content or use the longdesc attribute.
6. Audio & Video
Provide captions or transcripts of audio content, and text or
audio descriptions of video content.
7. Scripts, Applets, Plug-ins
Provide alternate content for scripting, applets or plug-ins so
that no important information is lost when unsupported or turned
off.
8. Frames
Label each frame with title or name, and incluce a hypertext
start-page in NOFRAMES element.
9. Tables
Avoid using tables to format text columns. Make sure cell-by-cell
reading order makes sense for tabular data.
10. Evaluate
Validate the HTML & CSS of your site. Check accessibility with
available tools, and with images, sounds & animations off.
See www.w3.org/WAI for complete Page Author Guidelines & techniques
Copyright (c) World Wide Web Consortium, (Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en
Automatique, Keio University). All Rights Reserved. Legal information:
http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/
5. Upgrade To Full HWG Membership Today!
(Kynn Bartlett, HWG President, president@hwg.org)
The HTML Writers Guild provides two levels of membership -- Trial and
Full. Trial membership is free and entitles you to nearly all of the
services of the Guild. We ask that members who find value in their
Trial membership upgrade to Full membership within a year's time.
The dues for Full membership are $40 (US) per year, which is around the
cost of a good HTML reference book. The benefits of Guild membership
are many, and include participation in the Guild's discussion lists,
our mentor-apprentice and vendor discount programs, and wealth of
resources on the HWG website.
Full members of the Guild also receive a 50% discount in tuition fees
for the HWG's online courses; instead of $50 per course, Full members
pay only $25. If you take more than 1 course, your Full membership
has already paid for itself!
You can upgrade your membership quickly and easily by editing your
profile, and paying your dues online through our secure form:
http://www.hwg.org/member/profile.html#upgrade
Member dues are spent to support the Guild's activities and programs,
including:
* Webserver hardware and software
* Participation in industry events and conferences
* Office expenses such as stationery, postage, and rent
* Professional services (legal, accounting)
* Part-time staff
* Marketing and outreach activities and publications
* Membership in the World Wide Web Consortium, and
participation in W3C working groups
If you've benefited from your Trial membership in the HWG -- now's
the time to upgrade to Full member status!
6. Subscription Info: The HWG-News Newsletter FAQs
(Kynn Bartlett, HWG-News Newsletter Editor, editor@hwg.org)
Some questions you may be asking:
Q: Why did I get this mail?
A: You received this newsletter because you are a member of the
HTML Writers Guild. This message came from hwg-news, the Guild's
mandatory mailing list for all members. If you need more information
about hwg-news, please see the List Charter at:
http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-news/index.html
Q. Why doesn't this newsletter talk about web design or HTML?
A. The newsletter is the Guild's administrative bulletin to the
membership. If you are interested in the topics of Web design
and HTML, then you might want to subscribe to some of our
discussion lists devoted to those topics. More information on
the Guild's offering of discussion lists can be found at:
http://www.hwg.org/lists/mailinglists.html
Q. How can I find out more about Guild activities?
A. The Guild has set up a one-way announcement list, HWG-Announce,
that carries bulletins of day-to-day Guild business. For details
on how to subscribe, please see:
http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-announce/
Q: How do I unsubscribe from hwg-news?
A: Since this is a required list in order to maintain your
Guild membership, unsubscribing is the same as resigning from
the HTML Writers Guild.
If you have your Member ID and password, to resign your membership
in the Guild and to unsubscribe to hwg-news, visit:
http://www.hwg.org/member/resign.html
Fill in the pertinent information, and submit it.
If you don't have a Member ID, or have forgotten your password, send
mail to:
newapps@hwg.org
with a Subject of: Resign membership
In the body of the message, provide the following information:
* Your email address(es)
* Your member ID if you have one.
* The list of discussion lists you are on.
Please remember that unsubscribing to hwg-news automatically resigns
you from the Guild. If you have problems with unsubscribing,
please contact the Database Manager for help.
Q: Can my company advertise in the Guild's newsletter?
A: Yes; the Guild is offering sponsorship opportunities in HWG-News
on a limited basis. If you are interested in advertising your
web related product or service here, please send email to
advertising@hwg.org or call (714) 526-4963. Discounts are available
to Guild Business and Corporate members, as well as for multiple
placements. The Guild's newsletter reaches over 75,000 web authors
worldwide each month.
(Note: The Guild does not make our member database available for
third party use. We have a strong privacy policy and will not
release our members' personal information; our mailing list is
not for sale. Any questions regarding the Guild's advertising or
privacy policies can be directed to advertising@hwg.org.)
Q: What if I want to comment on this newsletter?
A: The HWG-News Mailing List is a "Read-Only" list -- please do not try
to reply to this message directly.
If you wish to contact the editor of this newsletter, you may do
so by sending email to editor@hwg.org. Each article begins with
the contact information for the author as well.
This issue was edited by Kynn Bartlett.
Copyright 1998, HTML Writers Guild, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Published monthly via email and WWW.