Web Development Reference Index

This listing represents hours of scouring the Web for good references and guides to the technologies and languages involved in web development. I've found many of these references, especially Netscape's JavaScript 1.1 reference, more useful than many computer books that I've read. My goal is to keep this list limited to references and guides. But it already contains a few entries that are merely interesting places to find information, such as the Magazine and Web Browsers sections.  This is not, generally speaking, a resource for finding pre-made scripts.  It is for references.

Many of the references are available for free download, making for fast, easy offline access. I strongly recommend doing so. Using an "Offline Browser" or a program which can download an entire site, such as Teleport Pro, can also be extremely helpful. It's nearly always faster to access a page from your hard drive than over the Net. Please let me know if any of the links are broken or you find a reference on the web that you believe would compliment this list.

Credit and thanks for several of these links, especially Perl, CGI and Web Server topics go to several members of the WDVLTALK mailing list. They're a useful resource in themselves. :)

Thanks,
Greg

Scripting

JavaScript

Netscape Client-Side JavaScript 1.1
Netscape Client-Side JavaScript 1.2 Guide
Netscape Client-Side JavaScript 1.2 Reference
Netscape Client-Side JavaScript 1.3 Guide (Download PDF file (1.9MB) ) (Download zipped HTML)
Netscape Client-Side JavaScript 1.3 Reference (Download PDF file (6.1MB)) (Download zipped HTML)
Netscape Core JavaScript 1.4 Guide (Download PDF file (1MB)) Download zipped HTML
Netscape Core JavaScript 1.4 Reference (Download PDF file (3.4MB)) (Download zipped HTML)
Netscape Core JavaScript 1.5 Guide (Download zipped HTML)
Netscape Core JavaScript 1.5 Reference (Download zipped HTML)
Netscape's JavaScript Developer Central
Doc JavaScript
Coolnerds Electronic JavaScript Reference
Coolnerds JavaScript/Object Model Mega Xref
irt.org JavaScript Knowledge Base
W3Schools.com's JavaScript Reference

JScript

MS JScript Documentation Online (32-bit JScript Documentation Download)

VBScript

MS VBScript Documentation Online (32-bit VBScript Documentation Download)
DevGuru.com's VBScript 5 Quick Reference
W3Schools.com's "VBScript School"

Microsoft Windows Scripting

Microsoft's Scripting Site
Microsoft Windows Script Host Documentation Online (32-bit Windows Script Host 2.0 Documentation Download)
Windows Script Host (WSH) FAQ
DevGuru.com's Windows Script Host 2.0 Quick Reference

ECMAScript (JavaScript)

ECMA-262 JavaScript Language Specification in PDF format
ECMA-262 JavaScript Language Specification in MS Word

CGI

The CGI Resource Index
W3's CGI: Common Gateway Interface Overview

Perl

Effective Perl Programming
Rex Swain's HTMLified Perl 5 Reference Guide
Practical Perl Programming - A. D. Marshall 1999

HTML & XHTML

W3Schools.com's HTML 4.01 Reference
W3Schools.com's XHTML 1.0 Reference
DevGuru.com's HTML Quick Reference
Netscape HTML Guide (Navigator 4.0 and earlier)
Web Design Group's HTML 3.2 (Wilbur) Reference
Downloadable offline versions
Web Design Group's HTML 4.0 Reference
Downloadable offline versions
HTML Tags Sorted by Navigator Release
MS IE HTML Elements
HTML Character Sets
Additional Named Entities for HTML
Character Entities for Special Symbols and BIDI Text
Coolnerds HTML Mega Xref
Coolnerds Electronic HTML Quick Reference
Coolnerds Colors listed alphabetically by name
Coolnerds Colors listed in numeric order (black-to-white)
Coolnerds Mix your own custom colors
Coolnerds HTML Special Characters
W3C HTML Validation Service
W3Schools.com's HTML Colors
W3Schools.com's HTML Color Values
W3Schools.com's HTML Color Names
W3Schools.com's ASCII Reference
W3Schools.com's Entities Reference

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets, level 1 (CSS1) Specification
Cascading Style Sheets, level 2 (CSS2) Specification
DevGugu.com's CSS2 Quick Reference
CSS Properties
CSS Supported Properties Table
CSS-1 Reference
Coolnerds CSS Mega Xref
Cascading Style Sheets Guide
CSS Guide - Windows 95/98/NT4 Help (119 kB) California, USA || Utah, USA || Netherlands || Denmark|| UK
CSS Guide - Zipped HTML (221 kB) California, USA || Utah, USA || Netherlands || Denmark
CSS Structure and Rules - An introduction to the various kinds of selectors, pseudo-classes, pseudo-elements, and cascading order.
CSSCheck - Check the syntax and style of your Cascading Style Sheets with this CSS lint.
Netscape Communicator CSS1 Known Issues
W3Schools.com's CSS 2 Reference

Microsoft IE DHTML, HTML & CSS References

Microsoft IE DHTML, HTML & CSS References
Objects
Properties
Methods
Events
Collections

Misc. DHTML

W3Schools.com's DHTML DOM Reference
The W3C Level 1 Document Object Model
Other W3C DOM Specs
Dynamic HTML in Communicator (Last updated August 12, 1997) (Download PDF file) (Download TAR.GZ version for UNIX) (Download ZIP version for Windows)
WebReference.com's Dynamic HTML Lab
Navigator 4 Dynamic HTML Developer Central
Project Cool Developerzone Dynamic HTML Guide
Introduction to the DOM of IE 5/ NS 6

Misc. Web Development links

Collection of Common Links for the Internet Developer -- Includes many ASP-related links. Check it out.
WebReference.com
WebDeveloper.com Advanced HTML Links
Project Cool's Quick Reference List
The WorldWideWeb Acronym and Abbreviation Server
The Major Search Engines
Yale Style Manual

ASP

DevGuru.com's ASP 3.0 Quick Reference
25+ ASP Tips to Improve Performance and Style
Phil Paxton's Cache No More
Accessing a Data Source
INFO: Troubleshooting Guide for 80004005 & Other Error Messages
Error 80004005 Occurs When Retrieving Data from SQL Server
Troubleshooting ASP and ADO Errors
ASP Troubleshooting Tips and Techniques
INFO: ASP Knowledge Base Article Index
W3Schools.com's ASP Reference

XML

MS XML Reference
MS XML Developer's Guide

MS XML Downloads

MSXML 3.0 .cab File Redistribution Package
MSXML 2.5 SP1
MSXML 3.0 Parser Localized Versions
MSXML 3.0 SP1 MergeModule Redistribution Package
MSXML Parser 3.0 Release
MSXML Parser 3.0 Service Pack 1 Release
XML SDK Version 2.5 Documentation
XML Validation Tool
MSXML SDK 3.0 Release
MSXML Parser 4.0 Technology Preview

All kinds of W3C XML Stuff DevGuru.com's XML DOM Quick Reference
W3Schools.com's "SOAP School"

XSL/XSLT

W3Schools.com's XSLT Reference
MS XSLT Developer's Guide
MS XSLT Reference
MS XSLT Elements
MS XPath Syntax
MS XPath Functions
Generating Dynamic HTML with XSL

SQL & ADO

DevGuru.com's Jet SQL Quick Reference
DevGuru.com's Transact-SQL Syntax Quick Reference
DevGuru.com's ADO 2.6 Quick Reference
Introduction to Structured Query Language
Another Introduction to Structured Query Language
Interactive/On-line SQL Tutorial with SQL Interpreter & live practice database
Ask the SQL Server Pro
Informix Guide to SQL: Reference
SQL Reference Mirror
Oracle7 [7.3] Server SQL Reference
Oracle Web Application Server Documentation
SYBASE SQL Server Quick Reference Guide
SQL Tutorials & Docs
Netscape's Directory of SQL Links
Microsoft's Universal Data Access Web Site
W3Schools.com's ADO Reference
W3Schools.com's "SQL School"

Web Servers

Updated BrowsCap.ini
Webdeveloper.internet.com's Web Server Page
Apache Web Server
Xitami

IIS

Download Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack
Windows Web Services (IIS) – Deploy
IIS 4.0 Recommended Installation Procedure
Server Performance and Scalability Killers

Web Browsers

Evolt.org's Browser Archive - Virtually every browser known to humankind
C|Net's Browsers.com
Will Browsers Ever Not Suck?
WebReview.com's Master Compatibility Chart
Webmonkey Browser Chart
Supported tags in IE/NN and the HTML Spec.
Developer.WebTV.net - Development Resources for WebTV
CSS Supported Properties Table

WAP, WML & WMLScript

The Wireless Markup Language (WML)
WAP PDF document - the Wireless Application Protocol Architecture Specification by the WAP Forum
WML PDF document - contains the official Wireless Markup Language Specification by the WAP Forum
WML Script PDF document - the official WMLScript Language Specification by the WAP Forum
WML Script Libraries - The WMLScript Standard Libraries Specification by the WAP Forum
DevGuru.com's WML Quick Reference
DevGuru.com's WMLScript Quick Reference
W3Schools.com's WML 1.1 Reference
WAP/WML microbrowsers & emulator software

VB, COM, COM+

COM+ Application Guidelines for Visual Basic Development
HOWTO: Configure Visual Basic DLL Project Properties to Run in IIS, MTS, or COM+

Magazines, Periodicals and Articles

Web Techniques magazine - "Solutions for Internet Professionals" (Web Techniques offers free subscriptions [to the hard copy of the magazine] to Internet Professionals (U.S. Residents Only).
Webreview.com - "Cross-training for web teams"
(ASP) ASP Today - Wrox's ASP site with 5 new articles weekly
(ASP) 4GuysFromRolla.com
MSDN Online Web Workshop
A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites

 

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