Journal #1

Robbins, J. (2012). Learning web design: A beginner’s guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and web graphics (4^th ed., pp. 3-46). Sebastopol, CA:O’Reilly.

Aptly named, the first three chapters equip beginners to web design with basic knowledge they should acquire before being able to delve into any deeper understanding of the craft. The questions, maybe naive for advanced students, echo what beginners would like to ask but never have the courage to.

The first chapter informs readers of what a web designer, a job title open to a variety of roles, usually has to deal with: design, development, content strategy and creation, and multimedia. Technologies and professional tools – software and hardware – are also explained in simple terms.

Following the same strategy of not taking any previous knowledge as granted, chapter 2 starts with a brief history of the web (by the way, Internet is not another name for the Web) and goes on to explain pages and resources on the Web and their features. I found it really interesting that although relatively early (page 26) the writer introduces readers to the anatomy of a web page by explaining HTML documents and providing an example of it, it all makes sense and the reader feels that he/she can easily grasp how such a document can be created. (What a relief for me!) Added to this, the figure showing how browsers display web pages gives another clear idea of how a web page appears on a screen.

Finally, the third chapter explains what Robbins considers “Big Concepts.” Using a plethora of devices, sticking with web standards, dealing with unknown browser capabilities through progressive enhancement, using responsive web design to handle screen size, ensuring accessibility and site performance are all concepts to help us avoid any unpredictable and undesirable outcomes in our medium.

Question 1: What does the imaginary web address (URL) http://www.essaywriting.com/GWT/argumentation/sampleessays.html mean?

Answer: This URL first defines the protocol the server uses, which is the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (http). Then it gives the host name www of the site while its domain name is  essaywriting.com. After the slashes we have the directory names, starting from a broader and ending with a specific one: so the specific document is sampleessays.html located in the argumentation directory, which in turn is in the GWT directory.

Question 2:Do text and image travel together through the browser?

Answer: No, the browser parses the HTML document. There is a second request from the browser to the server for any images or other external resources.