Tag: HTML5

Using Tooltips on a Web Page

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on May 6, 2013.

Some developers focus on functionality, rather the usability, when designing their Web pages. The tradeoff is usually a bad one because users favor usability—they want things simple. One of the issues that I find most annoying on some sites is the lack of tooltips—little balloons that pop up and give you more information about a particular item. Adding tooltips requires little extra time, yet provides several important benefits to the end user:

  • Less experienced users obtain useful information for performing tasks such as filling out a form.
  • More experienced users obtain additional information about a given topic or the endpoint of a link.
  • Special needs users gain additional information required to make their screen readers functional.
  • Developers are reminded precisely why an object is included on the page in the first place.

In short, there are several good reasons to include tooltips. The only reason not to include them is that you feel they take too much time to add. If you find that you want additional information on making your site more accessible so that everyone can use it, check out another one of my books, Accessibility for Everybody: Understanding the Section 508 Accessibility Requirements. This book contains all of the information you’ll ever need to address every accessibility issue for any kind of application you want to create.

Accessibility is becoming more and more of a concern as the world’s population ages. In fact, everyone will eventually need some type of accessibility assistance if they live long enough. If you’re a developer, adding something as simple as tooltips to your pages can make them significantly easier to use. Users should request the addition of accessibility aids when sites lack them (and vote with their pocketbook when site owners refuse to add them). Let me know your thoughts about accessibility in general and tooltips in specific at [email protected].

Continuing Education

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m continually asking questions in my blog posts. In fact, you can find questions in a few of my books and more than a few readers have commented when I ask them questions as part of my correspondence with them. I often get the feeling that people think I should know everything simply because I write books of various sorts. In fact, I had to write a post not long ago entitled No, I Don’t Know Everything to address the issue. Experts become experts by asking questions and finding the answers. They remain experts by asking yet more questions and finding yet more answers. Often, these answers come from the strangest sources, which means that true experts look in every nook and cranny for answers that could easily elude someone else. Good authors snoop more than even the typical expert—yes, we’re just plain nosy. So, here I am today asking still more questions.

This year my continuing education has involved working with the latest version of the Entity Framework. The results of some of my efforts can be found in Microsoft ADO.NET Entity Framework Step by Step. You can also find some of my thoughts in the Entity Framework Development Step-by-Step category. I’ve been using some of my new found knowledge to build some applications for personal use. They may eventually appear as part of a book or on this blog (or I might simply choose to keep them to myself).

However, my main technical focus has been on browser-based application technology. I think the use of browser-based application technology will make it possible for the next revolution in computing to occur. It certainly makes it easier for a developer to create applications that run anywhere and on any device. You can find some of what I have learned in two new books HTML5 Programming with JavaScript for Dummies and CSS3 for Dummies. Of course, there are blog categories for these two books as well: HTML5 Programming with JavaScript for Dummies and Developing with CSS3 for Dummies. A current learning focus is on the SCAlable LAnguage (SCALA), which is a functional language (akin to F# and many other languages of the same type) based on Java.

Anyone who knows me very well realizes that my life doesn’t center on technology. I have a great number of other interests. When it comes to being outdoors, I’ve explored a number of new techniques this year as I planted some new trees. In fact, I’ll eventually share a technique I learned for removing small tree stumps. I needed a method for removing stumps of older fruit trees in order to plant new trees in the same location.

I’ve also shared a number of building projects with you, including the shelving in our larder and a special type of dolly you can use for moving chicken tractors safely. Self-sufficiency often involves building your own tools. In some cases, a suitable tool doesn’t exist, but more often the problem is one of cost. Buying a tool from the store or having someone else build it for you might be too expensive.

The point I’m trying to make is that life should be a continual learning process. There isn’t any way that you can learn everything there is to learn. Even the most active mind picks and chooses from the vast array of available learning materials. No matter what your interests might be, I encourage you to continue learning—to continue building your arsenal of knowledge. Let me know your thoughts on the learning process at [email protected].

 

Review of HTML5 Step by Step

Microsoft has thrown developers yet another curve—Windows 8 will rely on HTML5 and JavaScript for a programming interface. The revelation has many developers horrified. For me, it means updating my HTML and JavaScript skills, which was one motivation for reading the book reviewed in today’s post. HTML5 Step by Step, written by Faithe Wempen, provides a quick method of getting up to speed on HTML5.

This book is designed to aid anyone who wants to know how to work with HTML5, which means that it starts out extremely simple. The book avoids the ever popular Hello World example, but the example it does provide is small and easily understood. The chapters don’t remain simple, however, so even if you have some experience with HTML, you can use this book to update your skills. You’ll likely want to start around Chapter 3 if you are experienced and skim through the material until you come to something unfamiliar, which could happen relatively fast given the changes in HTML5.

HTML5 Step by Step is light on theory and reference information, but heavy with hands on experiences. It relies on using Notepad as an editor, which may seem like an odd choice, until you read the “Why Learn HTML in Notepad?” section of the Introduction. The author’s reasoning is akin to the same reasoning I would use, which is to make sure that the reader types everything and understands why a particular element is required. If you really want to get the most out of this book, you have to do the exercises in Notepad as the author suggests. Otherwise, I guarantee you’ll miss out on something important. Faithe has made a great choice of teaching aids in this case.

Chapter 1 is most definitely designed for the rank novice. It even shows how to set up the examples directory as a favorite in Notepad. However, unlike many books, the rank novice should read the book’s Introduction because Faithe does provide some needed information there, such as the “Understanding HTML Tags” section.

Chapter 2 gets the reader started with some structural elements. Faithe covers everything that the reader is likely to need for a typical starter Web page. I wish that the chapter had covered <meta> tags in a little more detail, or at least provided a table listing them, but this book does have an emphasis on hands on exercises, so the omission isn’t a glaring one. As an alternative to including the information, an update could provide a URL that lists the tags so the reader knows where to go for additional information.

By Chapter 3, the reader is formatting text and starting to make the sample site look pretty. I really thought Faithe did a nice job of moving the reader along at a fast, but manageable pace. She shows the reader how to make effective use of tag combinations, such as the <kbd> (keyboard) and <b> (bold) tags.

There is the smallest amount of reference information in some chapters. For example, Chapter 4 contains a table on page 50 showing the list attributes. These references are very small and quite helpful, but the reader should understand that the emphasis is on doing something and that the reference material may not be complete. For example, the special symbols table on page 56 is missing the em dash, which is something most people use.

The book progresses at a reasonable pace. Never did I find myself rushed. The examples all seem to work fine and I didn’t find missing steps in the procedures. The author uses an adequate number of graphics so that the reader doesn’t get lost. I liked the fact that every exercise ends with a cleanup section and a list of the major points that the reader should have gotten from the exercise.

Readers who are only interested in new tags will need to wait until Chapter 9 to see one. The <figure> tag makes an appearance on page 141. However, even some professionals didn’t use all of the HTML4 tags and it really does pay to start at Chapter 3 and look for something you don’t recognize. It may surprise you to find that an earlier chapter contains a somewhat new (but not new to HTML5 tag) that you’ve passed by.

There are a few nits to pick with this book. The first is that the author places the accessibility information in an appendix where almost no one is going to read it. The information should have appeared as part of the rest of the book as appropriate. In addition, the author misses the big point that most people today have some sort of special need addressed by accessibility aids. The number of people who are colorblind alone is 8 percent of the male population and 0.5 percent of the female population. This book is unlikely to help you create a truly accessible site—not that this is the reason you’re buying the book.

The second is that Appendix C doesn’t really help very much with the additions and subtractions for HTML5. For example, Appendix C doesn’t tell you about the new <aside> tag. If you want a quick list of the new tags, check out the www.w3schools.com HTML5 New Elements page. (I checked the missing <aside> tag against a number of other sites, such as About.com.) The point is that Appendix C won’t give you the complete picture. Again, this isn’t one of the selling points of the book, but the list should have been complete.

The third is that there isn’t really enough information about why something is done or why it changed—simply that it must be done or that it did change. The reader probably doesn’t want a full blown history of the change, but the why of something can make understanding and, more importantly, remembering a concept easier. Still, this particular nit is minor since the purpose of the book is to get you started with HTML5 quickly and not to explore it at a theoretical level.

Overall, HTML5 Step by Step is a great book for the novice who wants to learn how to create Web pages. It’s also an acceptable book for someone who’s experienced with HTML coding, but wants to get up-to-date on the HTML5 changes quickly. This book is definitely designed for someone who wants to do something, rather than simply read about it. If you don’t perform the exercises, you won’t get much out of the book.