Starting off with XHTML and Dreamweaver

When I was in high school I taught myself how to code HTML after finding a website created by another teenage girl and wanting to have one of my own. I mostly learned HTML from a website called Lissa Explains it All, which is a very colorful HTML help resource geared towards kids. (I still reference it to this day!)

Since I learned HTML some eight years ago, XHTML has taken its place. I've picked up some XHTML codes over time (such as using <br /> instead of <br>), but I know there are lots of gaps in my knowledge of code and standards, so I decided to take this class. I'm looking forward to updating my coding skills, though I know that is not the focus of the entire class.

Already, the first chapterof the book gave me a good introduction to the difference between HTML and XHTML, as well as definitions for XML and DHTML, which I've always seen while doing website coding but never really knew what they stood for. CSS is one of my favorite parts of coding. When I was younger, I'd make websites with scrollbars that were bright yellow and blue with different-colored borders (and then put them on the left side of the page instead of the right side!). On the more practical side of things, it's great to be able to make one change in the CSS code of a stylesheet and have that change reflected throughout your entire website, rather than having to update every single page.

I use Dreamweaver (CS) at work to update one of our websites, but since I know the coding required to make the updates, I usually skip all the neat features on the insert bars and go straight to code view. (Well, I use split view sometimes, too.) That's another reason I decided to take this class: I knew I would never take the time to explore all the features of Dreamweaver on my own, and I know if I did I would find all kinds of cool codes I don't know yet.

FTP for beginners -- and non-beginners, too!

The wiki article FTP for Beginners is a great primer on the technical and functional aspects of using FTP. It goes through the most important things an FTP user needs to know in an easy-to-understand -- and sometimes entertaining -- format. (One section, called "Check Out the Logs on That Server!", made me laugh. Maybe I'm just tired, but I thought it was funny.)

I've been using FTP since I started learning web design in high school. Back then, I was a Windows person and I used an FTP client called WS FTP. I'm pretty sure I downloaded it from one of those scary pirated software websites that I wouldn't dare even visit today, but was all the rage back in 2000. I found it pretty easy to use, but never understood what the logs actually meant or what the difference was between ASCII and binary. You don't need to know what these things mean to be able to FTP, but I enjoy and appreciate knowing the significance of these technical terms as I study the art and science of web design.

(The next paragraph is really just a rant about my current FTP client and has nothing to do with the "FTP for Beginners" article.)

Currently, I use the FTP offered through my home version of the antiquated Adobe GoLive CS. I hate it. The thing froze up on me no less than a dozen times while I was trying to update my online portfolio this weekend. I can't wait to get my hands on a shiny new version of Dreamweaver CS3 (though I hope my old iBook G4 can keep up).

Web design at AACC

I am taking a course in web design at AACC and am using this blog for that class. So anything labeled "web design class" is (obviously) related to my course. Looking forward to it.