This book is for CSS haters, people frustrated with CSS, and those making the transition to CSS-based design. I fall under the frustrated crowd. My site has been using CSS for a few years now and yet, I still waste a full day trying to get something to look right. Other resources are better served for those who haven’t touched an inkling of CSS. Once you have basic grounding in CSS, then come back to this one.
While reading the book, I wipe away my history with CSS so I can see it from it perspective of a person new or relatively new to CSS. Based on the title, it’s true you don’t have to read the book from front to back; however, it flows well so it is possible to read it cover-to-cover.
The introduction indicates the book is not a tutorial. The first chapter uses a different format from the rest of the book and provides a CSS refresher. The chapter is also useful for getting your CSS vocabulary straight with its describing CSS selectors, tag selectors, pseudo-class selectors, and class selectors.
Every item in the book begins with “How do I…?” with the solution following. Tips, important notes, and warnings are sprinkled throughout the chapters. The book’s layout is friendly for scanning and finding what you need. Screen shots and sample code support the content to help those who appreciate visual aids.
A good way to use the book is while you’re working on a site and you get stuck. For instance, you’re working on a form. In the old days, many of us used two-column tables to organize the form. You want to do the same thing with CSS. Here you would refer to Chapter 6: Forms and User Interfaces and check out “How do I lay out a two-column form using CSS instead of a table?” Or use the index to look up “forms” and underneath is “two-column forms.”
While my background gives you the impression that I expect sites to follow Web standards 100 percent, I actually don’t. Mega-sites like ESPN and ABC News would fail standards validation, but I give them much credit because they’re massive and dynamic. So in Chapter 9, Andrew shows how to do scrollbars and rounded corners, which only work in Internet Explorer and Mozilla respectively. No harm comes to anyone who can’t see one or the other.
Andrew also helps you create CSS drop-down menus, something I don’t encourage because it’s problematic in many ways. Even so, I’ve written articles showing how to do this because it’s a foundation for designing with advanced CSS techniques and helps you become more comfortable with CSS.
The first four chapters are available at no cost as a PDF file. To get the chapters, you will have to give up an email address. That’s generous considering there are nine chapters in the book. Plus, the site has the codes from the book for downloading. What about the rest? Yes, it’s worth it because the later chapters cover forms, CSS positioning (a biggie especially for designers struggling to drop the table habit), and techniques such as creating rounded corners with CSS that works across browsers.
The announcement of IE 7 coming out late this year will have little impact on the book except in the areas covering browser-specific issues. It depends on what Microsoft does with the new version of IE. I suspect Andrew will release a new edition when the time is right. Meanwhile, right now is a great time to get this handy book.
If you order the book from SitePoint, you get a $9.95 CSS Reference Poster free of charge.
Title: The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks, and Hacks
Author: Rachel Andrew
Publisher: SitePoint
ISBN: 0957921888
Date: November 2004
Format: Paperback
Pages: 376
Cover Price (of course, you won’t pay these prices. They’ll be discounted): US: 39.95
CDN: 57.95
UK: 20.79
