CSS for Dummies...

[iGary]

OK, so I am on page 21 of this book, and the author is telling me that he will only teach me how to program for IE, as it is the 95% most popular platform, and he just actually said that professionals use PageMaker.


Do I through this thing in the trash and move onto the other two books I bought?

 

[dubbz]

Not worth the paper it's written on.

I wouldn't even use it to wipe my butt.

 

[EricBrian]

However right or wrong that person is regarding that IE statement, it will teach you the basics. Keep reading and then check the web for quirks in the different browsers.

Oh, and stop buying the 'for dummies' books. They are so passe. =8-o

 

[iGary]

However right or wrong that person is, it will teach you the basics. Keep reading and then check the web for quirks in the different browsers.

Well I also have "The Zen of CSS Web Design" and "Cascading Styles Sheets The Definitive Guide" by Eric Meyer and O'Reilly.

 

[EricBrian]

I found OReilly books the best. Oreilly has a nice pocket guide to css. That was all I needed to get me going and it was less than 10 bucks.

 

[redeye be]

"Designing with web standards" by Jeffrey Zeldman (thorough explanation on browser differences, and workarounds)
Eric Meyers on CSS and
More Eric Meyers on CSS
are three books worth reading on CSS.

Cheers

EDIT i see you already know Meyers

 

[iGary]

Another question:

Should I invest in BBEdit?

I already downloaded SEEdit (Free) and have a friend that does all his work in Text Edit.

Any advantages to something expensive like BBEdit?

Tired of my company Websites looking like a third grader did them.

 

[Aarow]

Another question:
...Tired of my company Websites looking like a third grader did them.

The site you listed in your profile? I don't think a third grader could make that. Maybe a fourth grader, but definately not a third grader.

 

[EricBrian]

I use SubEthaEdit only. Just my pref. There are some CSS editors out that that provide a live preview of the style you are creating. You might want to have a look at those.

 

[iGary]

The site you listed in your profile? I don't think a third grader could make that. Maybe a fourth grader, but definately not a third grader.

LOL - I had a friend that half-way built a gorgeous site, but had a sort of life change and ended up not being able to finish it.

It was really beautiful with a lof of interactive Flash elements.

Now I actually have to learn something, I guess.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Tired of my company Websites looking like a third grader did them.

It's not the tool, it's the craftsman...

What I mean is that BBEdit (or brand x y or z) won't make a material difference in the look of your site.

 

[CanadaRAM]

LOL - I had a friend that half-way built a gorgeous site, but had a sort of life change and ended up not being able to finish it.

It was really beautiful with a lof of interactive Flash elements.

Beautiful and usable are not the same -- a great site lives at the intersection of the two.

 

[radiantm3]

Another question:

Should I invest in BBEdit?

I already downloaded SEEdit (Free) and have a friend that does all his work in Text Edit.

Any advantages to something expensive like BBEdit?

Tired of my company Websites looking like a third grader did them.

BBEdit is overpriced. Don't buy it. I made the mistake of buying it and I don't even use it anymore. I mean it was my favorite text editor... until I discovered Textmate (http://www.macromates.com). A lot of BBEdit users are moving to Textmate and loving it.

As others said, Jeffrey Zeldman's "Designing with Web Standards" is a great book.

Other really good CSS books include:

"Web Standard Solutions" by Dan Cederholm
"Bulletproof Web Design" by Dan Cederholm
"Professional CSS" by (a few authors)

 

[ChicoWeb]

95%, sounds like it was written about 3years ago, pre firefox. That number is about 65% now.

BTW, what does BBedit have to do w/ how your site looks.lol. You can build a site in DW, Golive, Textedit, frontpage, what does that have to do w/ the art or look of your site?

 

[SummerBreeze]

Like a couple of others have said, Designing with Web Standards is an amazing book. I've flipped through the For Dummies books on design and coding, they looked a bit out of date.

In all honesty, I've learned the most about CSS through http://www.w3schools.com and trial and error. You just need to keep working with it and you'll get it.

 

[Sic]

they may be a bit dated now, but they're still right. no matter how much you may dislike it, the majority of visitors to a website will be from IE, and it's completely pointless to not code for IE as you delete nearly 80% of your audience. that's all well and good if you're just coding for yourself and want a rebellious "mac only" site, but if you're coding a commercial site, you need to make it work across the board. it's just pretty annoying that there isn't anything for mac that truly represents the IE6 platform to make this possible.

it's swings and roundabouts really...

 

[iGary]

PageMaker?? That must be an OOOOLD book. Get a newer one. CSS works on all platforms, so, that shouldn't matter much. It's just that IE doesn't always interpret CSS properly, and often requires workarounds.

2005 Edition

I'm not using it - he's a Microsoft fanboy. All of his editing tutorials are done with Visual Studio.

Blech.

 

[radiantm3]

they may be a bit dated now, but they're still right. no matter how much you may dislike it, the majority of visitors to a website will be from IE, and it's completely pointless to not code for IE as you delete nearly 80% of your audience. that's all well and good if you're just coding for yourself and want a rebellious "mac only" site, but if you're coding a commercial site, you need to make it work across the board. it's just pretty annoying that there isn't anything for mac that truly represents the IE6 platform to make this possible.

it's swings and roundabouts really...

I don't think anyone is arguing against the fact that IE is the dominant browser on the net and it's important to test for it. The bottom line is IE should not be your primary testing browser. You should always test in the most compliant browsers and work your way down. I'm betting that book fails to mention the fact that IE has quite a few problems rendering CSS correctly.

 

[Josh]

Well I also have "The Zen of CSS Web Design" and "Cascading Styles Sheets The Definitive Guide" by Eric Meyer and O'Reilly.

That's all you need.

Any book or other source that teaches you to code for one specific browser, one way or the other, is garbage.

The idea of CSS-based design on the internet is to bring nice looking pages to people all over. Not the users of one particular browser.

 

[iGary]

That's all you need.

Any book or other source that teaches you to code for one specific browser, one way or the other, is garbage.

The idea of CSS-based design on the internet is to bring nice looking pages to people all over. Not the users of one particular browser.

So far I like the Meyers book (he mentions Safari on page 1).

But so far, he's way over my head.

I think I will read the Dummies book to get a good basic understanding, and then move onto the other books.

 

[MrSugar]

BBEdit is overpriced. Don't buy it. I made the mistake of buying it and I don't even use it anymore. I mean it was my favorite text editor... until I discovered Textmate (http://www.macromates.com). A lot of BBEdit users are moving to Textmate and loving it.

As others said, Jeffrey Zeldman's "Designing with Web Standards" is a great book.

Other really good CSS books include:

"Web Standard Solutions" by Dan Cederholm
"Bulletproof Web Design" by Dan Cederholm
"Professional CSS" by (a few authors)

I second this, TextMate is really the best editor on Mac. I have known a few BBedit guys to switch over, and I myself am a loyal TextMate user. By far the best text editor I have ever used.

Although, the find and replace could be a little deeper. I still have to open up Text Wrangler for that stuff..

Edit: Also, "Designing with Web Standards" is a great CSS book, as mentioned a few times above, definitely give that a lot!

 

[Stampyhead]

Sitepoint (http://www.sitepoint.com) also has a really good book called "The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks, and Hacks." It is written in question and answer style, and is a great reference for all aspects of CSS from the basics to more advanced stuff. It has helped me a lot in my work as I make the painful transition from table based layouts to CSS based.