Have you ever forgotten a particular nuance of a tag? Or maybe you've had to look an attribute up in an online HTML reference just because you just couldn't remember if it was target or action? Or maybe you've gotten stuck by those Hexadecimal Color Codes. What about escape values for special characters, like &copy or ¡. Sooner or later, all of us get stuck by some arcane fact or detail about HTML. Fortunately, we have the HTML Pocket Reference by Jennifer Niederst.

This handy booklet, only 92 pages, contains almost everything one needs to know about HTML. Like O'Reilly's other pocket references, it is not for beginners, but is rather targeted towards experienced developers who need their minds jogged once in a while to help them remember those pesky details. Terse and to the point, it contains no more (and no less) information than is necessary. In fact, the colophon and index, things customary in most O'Reilly books, are left out to further reduce the size. The book is arranged first by alphabetical order then by tag type, making hasty searches for arcane details quick and easy.

I am constantly amazed by how much information is crammed into the 92 pages of this reference book. Everything from tag usage; browser implementation; attribute lists; and clear, concise, and understandable explanations for each tag and attribute is included in this one-size-fits-all wonder.

The most useful parts of the book, in my humble opinion, are the last three sections. The first is a thorough list of all the HTML character entities. Then comes the decimal-to-hexadecimal chart, always useful for converting rgb color values to hex colors. Then comes the final portion of the book, a listing of each of the 140 color names and their corresponding hexadecimal values, rgb color value, and nearest web-safe pallete hex value. This list has been incredibly useful to me when designing sites' color schemes and working with graphics editors.

The HTML Pocket Reference is another of those fine books I keep only an arm's reach away. It provides quick and accurate information for any on-the-spot HTML-related questions. The accuracy, portability, and low price of this excellent book by Jennifer Niederst make it a must-have for any web designer.