Guidance needed

[lipper]

I am trying to learn web design. I just got done reading a couple of books on HTML4 and CSS1&2. I just got a book on HTML5 and CSS3 and found out that half of what I learned is depreciated or obsolete. Now I am wondering if it is worth reading about DHTML and Actionscript, or have they been replaced by something newer?
I need to ask for guidence on what is current and what isn't, and what are the emerging platforms?

[Force Flow]

HTML5 isn't finished yet and isn't supported on all browsers yet. CSS3 doesn't have full support in browsers either, and usually only works with proprietary browser vendor tags like -o-, -webkit-, -moz-, etc.

If you really want to learn about using HTML5/CSS3, take a look at this book: Home - HTML5 & CSS3 for the Real World

However, I'd recommend sticking to HTML4 and CSS2.1 for full browser support (but you can use some of the common CSS3 vendor tags, though IE has *no* support for CSS3 yet, so you may have to emulate CSS3 features using the filter property)

DHTML doesn't really exist anymore--the term has fallen out of usage. Now it's just JavaScript and HTML.

Actionscript is the language of Flash, and you'll need Adobe Flash Professional to use and compile it.

[lipper]

Thanks Force Flow.

One other scripting language I have a question about is PHP, is it still used?

[Force Flow]

Most definitely.