HTML Writers Guild Newsletter
Volume 6 Number 12, 19 June 2000
http://www.hwg.org/
mailto:editor@hwg.org
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Our Newsletter Sponsors: Searchbutton.com, TheShortList.com
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Table of Contents
1. June Town Hall: Thursday, June 22nd
2. Spotlight Class: Beginning Programming with Perl
3. Member-Submitted Tips: Taking over another author's site
(Next Issue's Topic: Effective web navigation )
4. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an online class!
5. HWG Events in Your Future: XML Europe 2000
6. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs
(How to change your email address, how to unsubscribe, and more.)
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This issue of HWG-News is sponsored by:
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1. June Town Hall: Thursday, June 22nd
(Frank Boumphrey, VP of Special Events, vp-events@hwg.org)
Our last Town Hall was a little short on participants (no doubt due to our
missing the previous two months), but we're back in full swing, so please
come to our meeting. Town Halls are informal affairs, where you can talk
to the governing board, ask questions, and generally let you opinions be
known in a more public forum than email. We hope to see you there!
The details on the June town hall meeting are:
22 June Town Hall Meeting
Date: Thursday, 22 June 2000
Time: 6:30 p.m. PST, 9:30 p.m. EST
Server: HWG Interactive, http://interact.hwg.org/
IRC: irc.hwg.org, port 6667
Channel: #townhall
To connect, either go to the URL above and use the Java-based client
available via the web, or use your favorite IRC client and join channel
#townhall.
2. Spotlight Class: Beginning Programming with Perl
(Ann Navarro, Online Education Director, classes@hwg.org)
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 system administration. Note that this is NOT
a CGI course.
Prerequisites: We strongly suggest students with no programming
background complete course P010: Introduction to Programming Concepts
before taking this course. You should have Perl installed on your
machine, or have remote access to a machine where you can use Perl.
You can download Perl for a variety of operating systems at
http://www.perl.com
Perl is free (Open Source) software.
About the Instructor:
Rich Bowen, Just Another Perl Hacker, has been programming in Perl for
about 4 years. Most of that time has been spent writing CGI programs
for various companies. Rich is currently employed at DataBeam
Corporation, where he is the "Web Services Engineer", which entails
writing CGI code for the corporate intranet. In addition, Rich is the
owner of RCBowen.com, suppliers of custom CGI applications and Perl
programming. Rich lives in Lexington, KY, with his wife Carol, daughter
Sarah, and border collie Java.
3. Member-Submitted Tips: Taking over another author's site
(Marshall Jansen, HWG-News Editor, hwg-news-tips@hwg.org)
The Guild's foundation is members helping members, sharing our expertise
and knowledge to improve our skills in the craft of web design. Everyone
has something to teach, and something to learn!
In keeping with that spirit, the HWG-News Newsletter HWG-News features
member-submitted "tips" in each issue, in the space between articles and
announcements. What happens if your tip is selected? Each issue, the
first-place winner will receive a free HWG t-shirt. Runner-up tips will
be also listed in the HWG-News newsletter as space permits, and
submissions will be posted on the HWG web site.
The topic for this issue, as announced last issue, is:
Taking over another author's site
In today's job market, new web developers will often be required
to take over existing code... often when the original author(s)
are long gone. What are some methods that can help ease the pain
of having to take over existing code, cleaning it up and making
it more maintainable?
An archive of old tips may be found at:
http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/newsletter/tips/
Complete rules and information (including size limits) are also listed
at the URL above -- please read it!
This issue's winner was sent in by Bill Snowman. We had a TON of great
entries this time, it was very tough to pick a winner (and even tougher
to stay in the 5-8 line limit, so I decided for this time to toss it out!)
Be sure to check the archive page to see all the tips on this category!
[HWG-News Tip: Taking over another author's site --------------------]
1. MOST IMPORTANT: Back up the entire old site to floppy or Zip disk!
You might miss something.
2. DON'T GET COCKY. Quite often a new author will flame a site design
only to find they are not insulting the author but the customer...
OOPS!
3. DESIGN THE NEW SITE AROUND THE OLD CONCEPT. Quite often the
customer's original ideas are there, they are just too hard to find.
Look for the core concept of the original site and rework it -- not
only it will make your job easier, the customer will most likely say
"now THAT'S what I was trying to say!"
4. CROSS BROWSER/PLATFORM COMPATIBILITY. Most of my redesigns are
simply because the previous author refused to believe that YES,
there are users for BOTH platforms and many browser visiting a site.
Check all your work for cross-platform and cross-browser
compatibility.
5. ECONOMICS: Finally, recode everything to make use of common files
and CLEAN HOUSE. A neat and well-formed directory structure will
help lend to a terse and effective site.
[--------------------- Submitted by Bill Snowman ]
If you have suggestions for upcoming HWG News Tip topics, you can
send those to hwg-news-tips@hwg.org as well. The category for
the next newsletter is:
Effective web navigation
It seems like everyone is trying to make new methods of site
navigation. What are the best ways to make an easy to use,
friendly, site navigation, and still 'stand out' from the
crowd?
Send in your 5-8 line tips on effective web navigation to
hwg-news-tips@hwg.org.
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4. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an online class!
(Ann Navarro, Online Education Director, classes@hwg.org)
Through a web-based interface, we offer a broad series of online
classes designed to teach you the skills you need, in a way that fits
your busy schedule. Our instructors are your fellow Guild members,
chosen for their expertise in their field and their willingness to
pass along their experience to you.
Upcoming courses you can take include:
Online classes currently open for enrollment include:
Beginning Programming with Perl
Dates: June 26, 1999 - August 6, 2000
Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p101.7.html
Learn the basics of the Perl programming language, system
administration, and a variety of other tasks. The course will cover
the fundamentals of the language, preparing you for a variety of
scripting projects. (Please note, this is not a CGI course)
Business Writing Basics
Dates: July 3, 2000 - August 27, 2000 (8 weeks)
Tuition: $25 Full members, $50 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/b101.8.html
You may be good at HTML tags, but that's just half the equation!
Learn how to make your content sizzle in our writing course!
Introduction to HTML 4.0
Dates: July 24, 2000 - September 3, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h101.17.html
Leave your WYSIWYG editor behind and explore the nuts and bolts that
make web pages function!
Creating Web Graphics with Paint Shop Pro
Dates: July 24, 2000 - September 3, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/g201.7.html
Release your inner artist! This graphics course will teach
you to create your own stunning images for use on your website,
using the Paint Shop Pro program.
Designing for Universal Accessibility with HTML 4.0
Dates: July 24, 2000 - September 3, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/d201.10.html
Can your web site be used by everyone, including people with
disabilities, older browsers, and hand-held computers? If you're
not sure, take this course; it could change the way you view the
web
Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets
Dates: July 24, 2000 - September 3, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h151.11.html
Add a little style to your web design! This popular course covers
CSS 1 and 2, which can enhance the appearance of any web page!
You'll learn which CSS rules are -- and are not -- supported by the
major browsers, and more!
Sites that Sizzle: Web Animation with Macromedia Flash 4
Dates: July 31, 2000 - September 10, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $60 Full members, $90 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a221.10.html
This course covers the exciting world of Flash 4. You will learn
to draw, create, import and manipulate vector objects, making them
come to life in frame-by-frame animations and on multiple layers.
Programming with Active Server Pages
Dates: July 31, 2000 - September 10, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/ms102.2.html
Part 2 of our exciting series on ASP programming! A continuation of
Active Server Pages for Non-programmers (HWG online course MS101),
students will take their existing scripting and ASP skills and begin
to build more complex applications.
COURSE FEES
Course fees are based on membership level; Full members receive a
discounted tuition price, while Trial members pay the standard price.
Full membership is only $40 per year, so upgrade your membership
before registering, and save money! 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. A
certificate can be requested after class is completed for $10.
Textbooks (when required) are separate and may be purchased through
the Guild's online bookstore, The Bookmark. Books should be
purchased before the first week of class! In addition, 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/
5. HWG Events in Your Future: XML Europe 2000
(Frank Boumphrey, VP of Special Events, vp-events@hwg.org)
As part of our ongoing Speakers Bureau program, we are pleased to
present this list of upcoming industry events at which the Guild will
be participating. More information can be found at our events page:
http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/events/
* BJS/Search National Conference: Justice, E-Government, and the Internet
Dallas, Texas
June 26-28, 2000
http://www.search.org/conferences/BJS062600.htm
Ann Navarro will be hosting several panel discussions throughout the
event.
* STC Pan-Pacific Conference
Honolulu,Hawaii
October 18-21, 2000
http://www.pan-pacific.org/
Ann Navarro and Frank Boumphrey will be giving talks on XML.
If you are attending either of these events, please stop by and introduce
yourself to our HWG representatives, we'd love to meet you!
6. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs
(HWG-News Newsletter Editor, editor@hwg.org)
This newsletter was edited by Marshall Jansen .
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 more?
A. The newsletter is the Guild's administrative bulletin to the
membership; beyond the HWG News Tips, we don't include specific
information on web creation. 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:
mailto:lost-password@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 password support team
for help.
Q: How do I change my email address for Guild mailings?
A: You can update your own membership profile at any time by going
to this page: http://www.hwg.org/member/profile.html. If you don't
know your password, contact the password support team
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 (205) 422-4340. Discounts are available
to Guild Business and Corporate members, as well as for multiple
placements. The Guild's newsletter reaches over 117,000 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.
Copyright 2000, HTML Writers Guild, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Published twice monthly via email and WWW.