A Long Journey Reaches a Happy Conclusion: The Uncertain Web is Out In All Formats

Posted on by Rob Larsen

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It’s true. After a two year odyssey, The Uncertain Web is finally out in every format that matters. The book has actually been out for a little over a month in multiple ebook formats from O’Reilly and Amazon; but owing to a slight production hiccup it hasn’t regularly been available in print until now (technically this Friday, but Amazon is on the case.) The book is in full color (and looks great) so I wanted to wait until you had the option to get your hands on the print edition before I really started to spread the news.

That time has come. I’m spreading some news…

I’m really happy with the finished product. One of the reasons I’m proud of it is that it’s the first book I’ve written that I could really recommend to my peers– my jQuery book was a hybrid effort with another writer aimed at intermediate developers and Beginning HTML and CSS is book for beginners. The Uncertain Web, on the other hand, works for everyone from a project manager or designer (who could read the first two and final chapters with ease) all the way up to the most technical front end engineer who might be surprised by some of the things that I kick around in my precious 224 pages. Not everyone is going to agree with everything I say in those pages, but there’s definitely something that will make you stop and think about the way you approach the web, no matter who you are.

Here’s how O’Reilly describes the book:

What’s the best way to develop for a Web gone wild? That’s easy. Simply scrap the rules you’ve relied on all these years and embrace uncertainty as a core tenet of design. In this practical book, veteran developer Rob Larsen outlines the principles of what he calls The Uncertain Web, and shows you techniques necessary to successfully make the transition.

By combining web standards, progressive enhancement, an iterative approach to design and development, and a desire to question the status quo, your team can create sites and applications that will perform well in a wide range of present and future devices. This guide points the way.

Topics include:

  • Navigating thousands of browser/device/OS combinations
  • Focusing on optimal, not absolute solutions
  • Feature detection, Modernizr, and polyfills
  • RWD, mobile first, and progressive enhancement
  • UIs that work with multiple user input modes
  • Image optimization, SVG, and server-side options
  • The horribly complex world of web video
  • The Web we want to see in the future

The book is also solely my idea. Which isn’t the case with any of my other books. Typically publishers have a book they want written andthey search for an author. This time I had some ideas I wanted to share and O’Reilly stepped up to let me share them (thanks to Simon St. Laurent.) That, in particular has been rewarding for me.

Have I mentioned I have a back cover blurb? I do. It’s provided by Jeremy Keith and it makes me smile.

“A refreshingly honest look at the chaotic, wonderful world of web development, with handy, practical advice for making future-friendly, backward-compatible websites.”

I also like this tweeted comparison:

All in all I’m a happy dude.

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