[Web4lib] A List Apart: 12 Lessons for Those Afraid of CSS and Standards

[Tom Keays]

Interesting article today from A List Apart. Where did I hear this
debate recently? Hmmm....

12 Lessons for Those Afraid of CSS and Standards
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/12lessonsCSSandstandards

Lesson No. 1: Everything you know is wrong… sort of

Comparing Tables vs. Semantic Markup
  * Linear vs. Hierarchical: Design for the information, not in spite of it.
  * Procedural vs. Functional: Put things where they belong.
  * Location-based vs. Contextual: Let the markup describe what
something is, before you let it describe where something is.
  * Defines constraints vs. Defines domains: You don't need to push
the envelope, because it will change its shape to suit your needs.

Lesson No. 2: It's not going to look exactly the same everywhere
unless you're willing to face some grief… and possibly not even then

Lesson No. 3: You will be forced to choose between the ideal and the practicable

Lesson No. 4 (with thanks to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry): Perfection is
not when there's nothing to add, but when there's nothing to take away

Lesson No. 5: Some sites are steaming heaps of edge cases

Lesson No. 6: Longer lead times are inevitable

The state of CSS rendering technology is at a state that at best is
comparable to the state of table rendering technology in early 1998…
so give it time, and test your layouts diligently in the meantime.

The good news is that the time needed to test and debug your layouts
is repaid after launch by the reduced time spent on maintenance,
extensions, and revisions.

Lesson No. 7: Coherent and sensible source order is the best of Good Things

  * A site-wide print stylesheet replaces separate print-only pages.
  * Stylesheets are easier to document, normalize, and maintain.
  * Interspersal of markup and scripting on site templates decreases.
  * Keyboard navigation of the site becomes considerably less painful.
  * When the site is redesigned, there's no need to rearrange the
content all over again.

Lesson No. 8: Descendant selectors are the beginning and end of
genuinely powerful CSS rules

When you begin the transition from table-based layout to
standards-friendly production, it's tempting not only to go crazy with
container elements, but also to stick classes and ids all over the
place.

Of course, you usually don't need to.

Lesson No. 9: In the real world, stylesheet hacks will get your
project across the finish line

http://centricle.com/ref/css/filters/  (ACK!!!!)

Lesson No. 10: Working around rendering bugs is like playing Whack-a-Mole

By this, I mean that when a rendering bug in one browser is worked
around successfully, it often results in the exposure of another
rendering bug in another browser (or a different version of the same
browser). When this happens, you can expect to step back and
re-examine your entire ruleset… if not your entire stylesheet
collection.

Lesson No. 11: When you're drowning in CSS layout problems, make sure
of the width and height of the water, float without putting up a
struggle, and get clear of the problems

Lesson No. 12: Background images will make the difference between the
plain and the tastefully embellished

-- 
Tom