RE: Web Design

> Well, to play devil's advocate (because I know that nobody else will say
> this), I don't think you really need to know any of the above.

Say what???

>
> To create web pages, your most important skills are how to write, how to
> create graphics, how to lay-out pages, how to structure hypertext, or some
> combination thereof. The rest of it is unimportant.

And this means to know HTML, DHTML, CSS and eventually on a near future
Pearl, CGI and some other stuff like XML, doesn't it?

I mean, on a superficial analysis of your assumption, one might think that
you are right, but to "lay-out pages" (for instance) you need more then
basic knowledge, especially if the interest lies in Business (which seems to
be the case of the original question).

Picking up your own signature "Imagination is more important than
knowledge", we must agree that A. Einstein it's correct on what concerns the
first stages of the Scientific Process. But it's also true that it was his
knowledge that made him capable of prove his famous theory, not imagination.
Wouldn't you agree?

>
> Why do you need to know the nuts-and-bolts of HTML? If you were
> designing a
> paper-based publication, would you learn the underlying file formats of
> Word, or Quark, or whatever? I don't think so (although that stuff is kind
> of interesting in its own right).

A very crude (read *bad*) comparison. Just because the "underlying format"
of Word must, in the same way, compare to DTD specification and syntax and
not to very good knowledge of HTML.


>
> We have a huge number of GUI web authoring tools and site management tools
> available to us. Purists will scoff at their handling of HTML
> (stand up and
> be counted, Harold Driscoll!),

After all this is more like a flame attempt, no?

>but they do the job adequately and you need
> zero knowledge of HTML to use them. There are no equivalent tools
> to hide a
> deficit of writing/drawing/designing skill.

Zero knowledge??!!
You must tell all of us which tools are those. It would be great to see HWG
close it's doors, just because there were not more customers. ;)

Regards,
Mario Figueiredo

>
> --
> David Meadows [ Technical Writer | Information Developer ]
> DNRC Minister for Littorasy * david(at)heroes.force9.co.uk
> "Imagination is more important than knowledge"
>    --Albert Einstein
>

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