CSS Reference

A selection of further readings

• W3C - CSS Notes, WDs, RECs
• CSS Publications, Articles, Blognotes, Tips

W3C - CSS Notes, WDs, RECs

General overviews and references to CSS specifications and closely related subjects

Web Style Sheets Home Page

[EN]

Style sheets describe how documents are presented on screens, in print, or perhaps how they are pronounced. W3C has actively promoted the use of style sheets on the Web since the Consortium was founded in 1994. The Style Activity has produced several W3C Recommendations (CSS1, CSS2, XPath, XSLT). CSS especially is widely implemented in browsers. By attaching style sheets to structured documents on the Web (e.g. HTML), authors and readers can influence the presentation of documents without sacrificing device-independence or adding new HTML tags.

http://www.w3.org/Style/

Cascading Style Sheets Home Page

[EN]

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a simple mechanism for adding style (e.g. fonts, colors, spacing) to Web documents.

http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/

Cascading Style Sheets » under construction «

[EN]

This page contains descriptions of drafts that the CSS WG (Cascading Style Sheets Working Group, formerly "CSS & FP WG") is working on. If you want to follow the development of CSS3, this page should be the place to start.

http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/current-work.html

Cascading Style Sheets, level 1

[EN]

This document specifies level 1 of the Cascading Style Sheet mechanism (CSS1). CSS1 is a simple style sheet mechanism that allows authors and readers to attach style (e.g. fonts, colors and spacing) to HTML documents. The CSS1 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. The rules for resolving conflicts between different style sheets are defined in this specification. This Recommendation results from W3C activities in the area of Style Sheets.

http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS1

Cascading Style Sheets, Level 2

[EN]

This specification defines Cascading Style Sheets, level 2 (CSS2). CSS2 is a style sheet language that allows authors and users to attach style (e.g., fonts, spacing, and aural cues) to structured documents (e.g., HTML documents and XML applications). By separating the presentation style of documents from the content of documents, CSS2 simplifies Web authoring and site maintenance. CSS2 builds on CSS1 and, with very few exceptions, all valid CSS1 style sheets are valid CSS2 style sheets. CSS2 supports media-specific style sheets so that authors may tailor the presentation of their documents to visual browsers, aural devices, printers, braille devices, handheld devices, etc. This specification also supports content positioning, downloadable fonts, table layout, features for internationalization, automatic counters and numbering, and some properties related to user interface.

http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2/

Cascading Style Sheets, Level 2 - Deutsche Übersetzung

[DE]

Diese Spezifikation definiert Cascading Style Sheets, level 2 (CSS2). CSS2 ist eine Formatierungssprache, die es Autoren und Benutzern gestattet, Formatierungen (zum Beispiel Schriften, Abstände und akustische Aspekte) von strukturierten Dokumenten (zum Beispiel HTML-Dokumente und XML-Instanzen) durchzuführen. Mit der Trennung der Präsentation eines Dokuments vom Inhalt des Dokuments vereinfacht CSS2 die Erfassung von Web-Dokumenten und die Verwaltung von Sites. CSS2 basiert auf CSS1 und mit sehr wenigen Ausnahmen sind alle gültigen CSS1-Stylesheets auch gültige CSS2-Stylesheets. CSS2 unterstützt medienspezifische Stylesheets, so dass Autoren die Darstellung ihrer Dokumente auf visuelle Browser, akustische Geräte, Drucker, Braille-Geräte, Handhelds und so weiter zuschneiden können. Diese Spezifikation unterstützt zudem die Positionierung von Inhalt, herunterladbare Schriften, Tabellen-Layout, Internationalisierung, automatische Zähler und Nummerierung, sowie einige Eigenschaften, die mit der Benutzerschnittstelle zu tun haben.

http://www.edition-w3c.de/TR/REC-CSS2

Cascading Style Sheets, level 2 revision 1

[EN]

This specification defines Cascading Style Sheets, level 2 revision 1 (CSS 2.1). CSS 2.1 is a style sheet language that allows authors and users to attach style (e.g., fonts and spacing) to structured documents (e.g., HTML documents and XML applications). By separating the presentation style of documents from the content of documents, CSS 2.1 simplifies Web authoring and site maintenance. CSS 2.1 builds on CSS2 which builds on CSS1. It supports media-specific style sheets so that authors may tailor the presentation of their documents to visual browsers, aural devices, printers, braille devices, handheld devices, etc. It also supports content positioning, table layout, features for internationalization and some properties related to user interface. CSS 2.1 corrects a few errors in CSS2 (the most important being a new definition of the height/width of absolutely positioned elements, more influence for HTML's "style" attribute and a new calculation of the 'clip' property), and adds a few highly requested features which have already been widely implemented. But most of all CSS 2.1 represents a "snapshot" of CSS usage: it consists of all CSS features that are implemented interoperably at the date of publication of the Recommendation.

http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/

Introduction to CSS3

[EN]

The members of the CSS&FP Working Group have decided to modularize the CSS specification. This modularization will help to clarify the relationships between the different parts of the specification, and reduce the size of the complete document. It will also allow us to build specific tests on a per module basis and will help implementors in deciding which portions of CSS to support. Furthermore, the modular nature of the specification will make it possible for individual modules to be updated as needed, thus allowing for a more flexible and timely evolution of the specification as a whole. This document lists all the modules to be contained in the future CSS3 specification.

http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-roadmap/

Associating Style Sheets with XML documents Version 1.0

[EN]

This document allows a style sheet to be associated with an XML document by including one or more processing instructions with a target of xml-stylesheet in the document's prolog.

http://www.w3.org/TR/xml-stylesheet/

Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) Version 1.0

[EN]

This specification defines the features and syntax for the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL), a language for expressing stylesheets. It consists of two parts: a language for transforming XML documents, and an XML vocabulary for specifying formatting semantics. An XSL stylesheet specifies the presentation of a class of XML documents by describing how an instance of the class is transformed into an XML document that uses the formatting vocabulary.

http://www.w3.org/TR/xsl/

Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) Version 1.1

[EN]

This specification defines the features and syntax for the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL), a language for expressing stylesheets. It consists of two parts: a language for transforming XML documents, and an XML vocabulary for specifying formatting semantics. An XSL stylesheet specifies the presentation of a class of XML documents by describing how an instance of the class is transformed into an XML document that uses the formatting vocabulary.

http://www.w3.org/TR/xsl11/

W3C - Cascading Style Sheets Test Suites

[EN] http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/Test/

CSS1 Test Suite

[EN]

The CSS1 Test Suite is provided as a way for vendors and page authors to test their browser’s conformance to the CSS1 specification. This test suite is organized around individual properties of Cascading Style Sheets, Level 1 (CSS1). The navigational markup of the test suite has been separated from the tests themselves.

http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/Test/CSS1/current/

Selectors Test Suite

[EN]

The role of this test is primarily to help implementors develop more comprehensive tests and to help authors gauge the level of support for the basics of the Selectors specification.

http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/Test/CSS3/Selectors/current/

CSS Publications, Articles, Blognotes, Tips

Tutorials, articles, reviews, and notes on selected subjects concerning Style Sheets and website design

CSS tutorial - starting with HTML + CSS

[EN] Bert Bos

This short tutorial is meant for people who want to start using CSS and have never written a CSS style sheet before. It does not explain much of CSS. It just explains how to create an HTML file, a CSS file and how to make them work together. After that, you can read any of a number of other tutorials to add more features to the HTML and CSS files. Or you can switch to using a dedicated HTML or CSS editor, that helps you set up complex sites.

http://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/011/firstcss

Guide to Cascading Style Sheets

[EN]

Style sheets can be used to suggest a layout for HTML documents. The Cascading Style Sheets section offers a complete overview of CSS1, the most popular standard for style sheets. It has an introduction, a tutorial and a comprehensive reference.

http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/css/

Complete CSS Guide

[EN]

Hi and welcome to the Westciv Complete CSS Guide, a free online reference to every aspect of cascading style sheets. If you’ve got a question about CSS the answer is sure to be here.

http://www.westciv.com/style_master/academy/css_tutorial/index.html

Ordnung muss sein - Cascading Stylesheets: Tutorial

[DE] Stefan Mintert

Webseiten oder ganze Sites zu planen und zu gestalten, dürften heute viele nicht mehr unternehmen, ohne sich der Formatierungsmöglichkeiten der Cascading Stylesheets zu bedienen. Mit CSS Level 2 existiert dafür ein Standard, dem dies Tutorial Leben einhauchen soll.Webseiten oder ganze Sites zu planen und zu gestalten, dürften heute viele nicht mehr unternehmen, ohne sich der Formatierungsmöglichkeiten der Cascading Stylesheets zu bedienen. Mit CSS Level 2 existiert dafür ein Standard, dem dies Tutorial Leben einhauchen soll.

http://www.heise.de/ix/artikel/2003/03/050/

CSS: Einführung

[DE] Jan Winkler

Mit dem Erstellen immer größerer Websites, Homepages und allgemein Internet-Seiten wird jeder "Webmaster", "Webautor" oder "Webpublisher" (etc.) irgendwann einmal feststellen, dass z.B. das Formatieren von Texten oder das Gestallten von Tabellen mit der Weile etwas anstrengend wird. In diesem Fall könnten Sie diese, um Zeit und (Server-)Platz zu sparen, entweder einfach weglassen oder Vorlagen benutzen - was aber auch nicht den erwünschten Effekt bringen dürfte. Hierfür gibt es aber eine einfache und unkomplizierte Lösung: CSS

http://www.html-world.de/program/css_1.php

CSS 4 You

[DE] Thomas Pehlgrim

Dieses Projekt ist der Versuch eine Site zu erstellen, die das Thema Stylesheets komplett und leichtverständlich im deutschsprachigen Internet verbreitet.

http://www.css4you.de/

CSS - Intensivstation »IN VALID CODE WE TRUST«

[DE/EN]

CSS is the modern way to build web sites. Intensivstation offers insight, help, tips and templates for CSS design.
Die CSS-INTENSIVSTATION gibt Einblicke, Hilfen, Tipps und Templates fuer den Umgang mit CSS2 und tableless Design.

http://intensivstation.ch/

css.maxdesign.com.au

[EN]

Well done tutorials on styling lists, CSS-Selectors and the float property. Also featuring the »Listamatic«, examples of list styling:

Can you take a simple list and use different Cascading Style Sheets to create radically different list options? The Listamatic shows the power of CSS when applied to one simple list using samples from Eric Meyer, ProjectSeven, SimpleBits, Jeffrey Zeldman and others.

http://css.maxdesign.com.au/

Integrated Web Design: Strategies for Long-Term CSS Hack Management

[EN] Molly Holzschlag

Hack management? What the heck is that? Well, if you’re working with CSS and you’re trying to address the oddities of multiple browsers, you simply cannot achieve consistency between those browsers without employing hacks.

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=170511

Listamatic - One List, Many Options

[EN] Max Design

Can you take a simple list and use different Cascading Style Sheets to create radically different list options? The Listamatic shows the power of CSS when applied to one simple list using samples from Eric Meyer, ProjectSeven, SimpleBits, Jeffrey Zeldman and others.

http://css.maxdesign.com.au/listamatic/

CSS Vault

[EN] Paul Scrivens

I needed a place where I could look at a list of sites that would inspire my creativity with CSS. I needed a site that linked to all the great CSS resources out there on the web. I couldn’t find a site that combined those two elements, so I created one myself. This site is useful for me as a designer and I hope that it is useful for you whether you are a designer, developer, programmer, manager, or just a CSS advocate. Instead of showing off great sites to everyone, let’s show off great sites that use CSS so we can inspire others to use the technology.

http://www.cssvault.com/

MacEdition Guide to CSS2 Support in Mac-only Browsers

[EN]

This page only includes OS X-only browsers that are currently being distributed: Safari 1.x, OmniWeb 4.5/5.0, iCab 2.6 and above (current version 2.9.7) and Mac IE 5.2.x.

http://macedition.com/cb/resources/macbrowsercsssupport.html

Internet Explorer 6 CSS Bugs

[EN] Tom Gilder

This is an IE6 CSS test page. All the examples on this page work mostly fine in IE5.* (I believe) and IE6 in backward-compatible rendering mode, but render incorrectly in IE6 final with standards-compatible mode switched on.

http://tom.me.uk/2002/2/ie6css.html

css-discuss

[EN]

css-discuss is a mailing list devoted to talking about CSS and ways to use it in the real world; in other words, practical uses and applications.

http://archivist.incutio.com/viewlist/css-discuss

css-discuss WIKI

[EN]

The css-discuss Wiki is a companion to the CssDiscussList mailing list. Among other things the wiki serves as a collective long term memory for the list participants.

http://css-discuss.incutio.com/

Position: fixed (fast) alle Browser? Es geht doch !

[DE] Fabrice Pascal

Das W3C hat in seiner CSS Empfehlung bei der Positionierung von Elementen neben den bereits häufig eingestetzten relativ | static | absolut auch eine fixe Positionierung vorgesehen. Leider kam diese Art der Positionierung bisher eigentlich nie zum Einsatz, da der am Meisten verwendete Browser, der Microsofts Internet-Explorer, dieses Attribut leider selbst in seiner aktuellen Version 6 nicht unterstützt.

http://www.fabrice-pascal.de/artikel/posfixedie6/index.php

CSS Layout Techniques: for Fun and Profit

[EN] Eric Costello

If you are looking for help making the transition to CSS layout (that’s Cascading Style Sheets), you’ve come to the right place. I am cataloging here as many useful cross-browser CSS layout techniques as I can find, and some that I made up when I was bored last Thursday. All the examples on this site have been reduced to only their essential code, and you will find the source displayed on each page to hopefully make it quick and easy to understand the inner workings of the CSS.

http://www.glish.com/css/

Box Lessons

[EN] Owen Brigg

This is a Problem & Workaround Set for a series of CSS Boxes going from a simple single box, through 3 columns with a full width top box, all with variations.

http://www.thenoodleincident.com/tutorials/box_lesson/index.html

CSS/Experiments - Pushing CSS to the limits

[EN] Mark Schenk

What’s this page about? Well I decided I would also like to have a place to store my CSS experiments, instead of just deleting them after use. So I started working a bit on CSS/Exp which stands for both CSS/Experiments and CSS/Experience.

http://www.markschenk.com/cssexp/index.html

CSS Destroy

[EN] Literary Moose

This page collects my own experiments with cascading watercolor arrangements. Normal usage of styles is omnipresent throughout my site. Nevertheless, I felt the need to express my ideas further, beyond what is considered normal. Therefore, whatever follows, should by construction be considered abnormal, or challenging, if you will. I do not intend to save the world, or present ideas with Edisonous utilitarian properties; all experiments of mine are weak Pareto improvements, ergo: they are useless from the socially optimal point of view, they serve no purpose other than maximize the objective function of at least one individual, whilst leaving all others unharmed.

http://www.literarymoose.info/=/css.xhtml

Cascading Style Sheets and Page Design

[EN] Ian Andolina

This page, when it’s grown up a little bit, will host a number of my ideas and thoughts on using CSS as a ’design’ tool. I think we have come to the stage where CSS is ’fairly’ well supported, and flexible enough that it can be used for most (static) page design tasks.

http://nontroppo.org/test/

CSS/edge

[EN] Eric Meyer

What is this? It’s a challenge, an experiment, an exploration, a rough map of where we haven’t been. It’s a search for new ways to approach Web-based design. It’s a cry for creativity, and a stab at innovation. It’s a playground and a proving ground. It’s a rejection of what’s practical in favor of what’s possible.

http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/css/edge/

CSS Zen Garden

[EN] Dave Shea

A demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design.

http://www.csszengarden.com/

CSS Support History

[EN] Brian Wilson

Comprehensive tables of all CSS properties and values currently supported by Internet Explorer, Netscape and Opera. Support in the CSS1 and CSS2 specifications is also detailed. This list breaks down the CSS properties and values by category and details the very first version of each browser and standard where support began.

http://www.blooberry.com/indexdot/css/supportkey/syntax.htm

A List Apart - ALA Topics: CSS

[EN] Jeffrey Zeldman

Using Cascading Style Sheets as part of standards-based web design. CSS layout techniques, tips, and tricks. Crafting a print style sheet. Emulating (and surpassing) traditional visual web design techniques. Separating presentation from structure. Style sheet switching for user customization, accessibility, and creative purposes. CSS support browser bugs and workarounds. Showing and hiding elements, replacing text with images. Fixed and liquid layouts...

http://www.alistapart.com/topics/css/

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