If you’re a web designer/developer Microformats-Empowering Your Markup for Web 2.0 should be on your bookshelf.

One of the beautiful things about the web is if you need a “cool” new feature but don’t quite understand it, you can look at the source code, copy and paste, tweak to fit your needs and go with it. One of the evil things about the web is if you need a “cool” new feature but don’t quite understand it, you can look at the source code, copy and paste, tweak to fit your needs and go with it. What I’m getting at is you can find someone, somewhere to give you a helping hand and allow you to copy his or her code. But this also means you’re not learning or growing. You’re really doing yourself a disservice when you copy and paste code without understanding what the code does.

That was a long way for me to say, I really like microformats but have for the last little while been using them (copy and pasting) without really understanding how they work. But I do now! I’ve taken the opportunity over the long Thanksgiving weekend to read Microformats- Empowering Your Markup for Web 2.0. John Allsopp’s style is easy to follow and by the end of the book the mystery around microformats is gone.

One of the perks I found while reading Microformats- Empowering Your Markup for Web 2.0 was a better understanding to writing good semantic HTML code and lean CSS.

The first 3 chapters explain where microformats originated, the proper format for writing microformats and how semantic HTML should be used when writing microformats. The next 7 chapters go into deliberate detail. Each chapter building upon the last on how to create and cleanly code everything from a simple link-based microformat to compound event microformats. Chapters 11 & 12 are well done case studies about Cork’d and Yahoo’s use of microformats. Chapter 13 is for the adventurous. It teaches you how to research, create and document your own microformats. And the book leaves you with an Appendix that I reference very often. The Appendix is broken into 3 sections; Microformat Specs, Design Patterns and the third part lists People, Tools, Services, Publishers and related organizations.

Microformats- Empowering Your Markup for Web 2.0 is a definite 5 out of 5 stars and a must have.