Creating recipes - neccessary skills?

[fcoulter]

OK, it's been a while since I've programmed seriously. (Over a decade.)

I'd like to experiment with recipes, but I need to brush up on my tech skills.

From reading other posts on this forum, it looks like I'd need the following skills:
1) brush up on my html
2) css
3) python 2.x

First, am I missing anything on this list? Do I need to learn xhtml, too?

Second, are there any recommended books/web sites/etc that would point me in the right direction? Full time work means that well organized teaching sites or books are better than pointing me to manuals and technical documents.

(A little background on me. B.S. in Computer Science '94. B.B.A. in Accounting '94. M.Acc. '95. M.P.A. in progress. MCP. MOUS Master Instructor. Other computer & accounting certifications.)

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by fcoulter

Second, are there any recommended books/web sites/etc that would point me in the right direction? Full time work means that well organized teaching sites or books are better than pointing me to manuals and technical documents.

You can write most recipes with a lot less than what you have on your list. I suggest:

Figure out how to run recipes from a batch file, sending html to a directory and errors to a text file.

I use:

c:
cd \Projects\Calibre\Recipes\GoComics
ebook-convert GoComics.recipe GoComics --test -vv > GoComics.txt

I keep 3 files always open in my text editor. The recipe, the batch file above and the error file.

Use FireFox and FireBug to look at the html of the pages you are working on.

Copy a few builtin recipes and run them.

The main thing you are missing is the Calibre specific API and how to use it all. Here are the links that I use. I've read them many times and still have lots to learn.

Ask questions in the sticky custom recipe thread. There are lots of people there who will help.


Read this and this and this and this.

[fcoulter]

Any thoughts on the following books for XHTML and CSS?

HTML and CSS Web Standards Solutions: A Web Standardistas' Approach

Mastering Integrated HTML and CSS

Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML

I'll worry about Python next.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by fcoulter

Any thoughts on the following books for XHTML and CSS?

No. I did not have time to formally learn CSS, HTML, Python, etc. I barely know any CSS. It's on my list of things I'd like to know better. Your approach will give you a solid background to build on. It's the right way to do it, but it's a much longer road.
Perhaps others can comment on your books.