Even though CSS has become the standard hand tool of every web designer, it is and remains hard to learn and master. CSS statements behave differently depending on context, and hardly any browser interprets CSS statements in accordance with the standard. So what the CSS standard brings with it is almost completely eliminated by practice. In addition, errors can be found not by feedback from the development environment, but only by persistent testing of the CSS code in different browser environments and can be compensated by using hacks and filters. Anyone working with CSS needs two things: excellent memory and a lot of patience.
This book takes a revolutionary approach: it applies the principle of design patterns to CSS and thus designs the first systematics for the use of cascading style sheets. The author can serve any design purpose with around 350 recipes - and all recipes work with any available browser!
This book contains solutions for designing HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 code using CSS 2.1. It includes more than 350 design patterns that you can use away from the stain. Each pattern is modular and adaptable, and you can combine the different patterns into an unlimited number of designs.
Each design pattern has been thoroughly tested. It has been ensured that they work in all major web browsers, namely Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 6, Firefox 2, Opera 9 and Safari 2.
The entire contents of this book are practically applicable. You don't waste time reading about things that don't work! Thanks to this book, you no longer have to deal with hacks and tricks and endless tests, and you don't have to try your code in different browsers to get something going.
If you want to use a design pattern, simply copy it into your code and adjust a few values. In this book, you will learn what values you can change and how to affect the end result. This allows you to create exactly the style and layout you want - without worrying about whether it works.
But this is not just a recipe book. It systematically covers all the useful features of CSS and combines them with HTML to create reusable patterns. Each pattern has a meaningful name so you can easily find, remember and talk about it. Accessibility and recommended procedures are carefully incorporated into each design pattern, examples and source code.
You can simply read the book, use it as a reference book or use it to find specific solutions. The uniform layout makes it particularly easy to use. In the book there are examples on the left and the explanations on the right. Each example includes a screenshot and the entire relevant HTML and CSS code, so you can easily read how the pattern works. The explanation is on the right side, so you can access the example while you read the explanation.
Each design pattern has a name that is stated at the top of the page. This makes it easier to find a design pattern, remember it and exchange with others. Since the name, screenshot, code and explanation are in the same place on each double page, you can simply flip through the book to find what you are looking for.
The design patterns are arranged according to themes. All useful CSS rules are explained in context and in depth like no other book. All design patterns are barrier-free and follow the state of the art. That makes this book both a valuable read if you read it from front to back, and a valuable reference book to have beside you when designing and coding.
This book puts your productivity and creativity in web design and development free. Design patterns are like Lego bricks - you can combine them in countless ways to create any design. They behave like the different tools in a toolbox, and this book equips you with hundreds of such tools that allow you to solve problems quickly and reliably. Instead of cobbling together a solution using hacks, this book teaches you how to create predictable designs - by combining predictable pattern combinations.
