CSS

Draft

Definition

CSS is a style sheet mechanism that allows authors and readers to attach style (e.g. fonts, colors and spacing) to HTML documents. The CSS language is human readable and writable, and expresses style in common desktop publishing terminology. One of the fundamental features of CSS is that style sheets cascade; authors can attach a preferred style sheet, while the reader may have a personal style sheet to adjust for human or technological handicaps. There are rules for resolving conflicts between different style sheets. With the help of some JavaScript code one also may offer several stylesheets to an enduser. Finally CSS is an important component in so called "DHTML" and AJAX. Programming Dynamic Web pages may involve dynamic change of CSS features.

This page is just a quick copy/paste from my old http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/css/pointers.html So far it only got links ... - Daniel K. Schneider

Tools / Software

On-line validation tools

• W3C validator (W3C) download and on-line). This only works with W3C vocabularies, e.g. not with your own XML.
• WDG CSSCheck

Editors

• TopStyle Lite (direct link).

Browser plugins and Bookmarklets

• CSS validator Michel Langley's Firefox add-on (sends the page to the W3C validator).

• XRAY is a bookmarklet for IE, Mozilla/Firefox and Safari. Use it to see the box model for any

element on any Web page.

Documentation

Specifications

When you are in doubt proceed first with an on-line validation, then check bug-lists, e.g. RichInStyle's or another pick form the list at W3C.

• Cascading Style Sheets, level 1
• Cascading Style Sheets, level 2

Manuals, short references and implementation charts

• CSS Properties Good summaries from the Web Design Group
• Mozilla/Opera sidebars from Zvon (work sort of with firefox )
• CSS contents and browser compatibility at quirksmode.org. Good. Also has stuff on DOM compatibility
• Web Devout, good Web Browser CSS support. Good !
• Index DOT Css (ok, but outdated)

Made at TECFA

• Cascading Style Sheets (en français)
• TECFA Example directory
• Directory for centrally managed styles

General Tutorials

(see also the Links section, maybe looking at examples will get you there faster !)

• Adding a touch of style by David Raggett, nice tutorial for the masses
• Fixing your site with the right DocType. "List a Part" article for a related, but important subject !
• Chapter 20: CSS chapter 20 of the book Cascading Style Sheets, designing for the Web, by H�kon Wium Lie and Bert Bos.
• Introduction to CSS (includes an XML CSS short tutorial).
• CSS FLoats Part I (should work with Mozilla, for others see part 2 (from Webreference's HTML with style tutorials section)
• A List Apart CSS hacks (since issue 100 this famous on-line mag uses strict W3C complicant code ... and they still let you see style-less contents with old browsers).
• Flexible Layouts, good A List Apart story (nov 2002)
• Evolution of a Home webreference article showing how they could rebuild their home page without tables for all 5 browsers.
• Advanced CSS Layouts, WebReference.com tutorial by R.V Lizaola & A.King
• CSS in the Real World. Lecture notes from Zeldmann
• Writing Lean CSS at OrderedList (9/2004). Use cascades and regroup selectors, etc.

Page Layout

Design without tables, CSS Positioning, etc.

• HTML Utopia: Chapter 5: Building the Skeleton by Dan Shafer (extract of chap 5 of the "Designing Without Tables" book)
• CSS Positioning Good and clean CSS tutorial (look at the source of the pages !)
• Tutorial 19: CSS Positioning, Part II webreference article
• The Layout Reservoir Good 2 and 3 colum designs !
• CSS Layout Techniques: for Fun and Profit
• Boxes from thenoodleincident.com. Nice examples !
• S5 is a slide show format based entirely on XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript. With one file, you can run a complete slide show and have a printer-friendly version as well

CSS with XML

• On Display: XML Web Pages with Mozilla by Simon St.Laurent

Client-side style-sheets

Wow !

• The CSS Anarchist's Cookbook by Eric Meyer, O'Reilly
• Tap the Power of Mozilla's User Style Sheets

Font compatibilty

• Why Windows Web Pages Have Tiny Text
• Beyond the FONT tag: Practical HTML text styling by Todd Fahrner

Links

• CSS Page at W3C, see also Style. Specifications plus some good ressources links.
• *** Zen Garden, The Beauty of CSS Design. This allows you to load various great CSS designs of into the page (which then radically changes its appearence (recommended, over 400 designs !).
• CCVault This site has a nice gallery and various good links to other resources (tutorials and examples that are worth a visit).
• css/Edge. This is another good site for advanced CSS: "The goal here is to find ways to make CSS live up to its fullest potential, with only minimal regard to browser limitations" (own examples good pointers)
• Position is Everything Quote: "we're Big John and Holly Bergevin, and together we built this site to explain some obtuse CSS bugs in modern browsers, provide demo examples of interesting CSS behaviors, and show how to 'make it work' without using tables for layout purposes."
• CSS Layout Techniques: for Fun and Profit, CSS notes for the Eric Costello's Glish.com
• House of Style Tutorials and Guides (also sell the Style Master software)
• DHTML Links (good CSS pointers)
• Cascading Style Sheets (good list of links at WebReference.com)
• Web Content Articles at Apple's Developper connection has some CSS articles and Safari information