http://tucsondigitalarts.com/forum/ TDAC Forum Topic: CSS Basics en Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:14:50 +0000 http://tucsondigitalarts.com/forum/topic/css-basics#post-5 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:52:27 +0000 foundry 5@http://tucsondigitalarts.com/forum/ <p>This is a topic that is probably very important to a lot of us who use the web for our professions: <strong>CSS best practices</strong> (or "only the facts please.")There are a lot of problems in trying to unite the many different browsers out there, so it is very important for us to use a well defined list of objectives to help us coordinate and streamline our workflows.It's hard to create a comprehensive (professional) list. I have researched a few lists like what we need. (A great one is at <a href="http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/05/10/70-expert-ideas-for-better-css-coding/." rel="nofollow">http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/05/10/70-expert-ideas-for-better-css-coding/.</a>) This is a lot of info and many people have different opinions. Therefore it is good to discuss this as a forum post.In my opinion, I think that it is important to start with why CSS was invented. No more tables!! They were to clunky to style and definitely didn't work across all browsers (Netscape vs. IE.)So our best practice should be: <strong>keep that CSS light!</strong> This one is pretty easy. For programmers, it is best to be elegant (it's fashionable!)</p> <p>A couple of things:</p> <ol> <li>-Reduce inline styles: I think that the only exception that I have run into here is the notorious html newsletter. But when working on a big website, it is pretty easy to see why we avoid inlines too much: "where did that extra big, bright green border come from?"</li> <li>-Use your inheritance: we can significantly cut down on complexity with some knowledge of the box model (http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-box/.) This is the basis for our div structure.</li> <li>-Also implied is the reduction of fixed sizes for as many of the page elements as possible. Let the parent do the work for the children.</li> <li>-Watch that notation! Using semantics in CSS may be one of the most important problems we have here. Proper grouping and naming will save us many hours of unpaid work!</li> </ol> <p>There are a lot more. But I have to go back to work now. Others? </p> http://tucsondigitalarts.com/forum/topic/css-basics#post-4 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:22:43 +0000 admin 4@http://tucsondigitalarts.com/forum/ <p>The basics of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and how to use them to structure websites. </p>