Sent by Eric A. Meyer on 6 August 2002 10:10
At 13:43 +0100 8/6/02, Andy Baker wrote:
>I s'pose the point I am making is: "CSS for CSS's sake is no virtue"?
Neither, I would claim, is it a vice. Remember, CSS doesn't kill
document structure-- people do.
>Obviously we can say it is a fun technical challenge. I just wonder if
>anyone wants to defend this use of CSS ideologically ;-)
Experimenting with ways to use CSS to produce certain effects help
explore the nuances of how the various pieces of CSS fit together.
Pushing the boundaries of what we think we can do gives us new tools
to use later on, when we least expect to need them. And in seeing
what's necessary to produce certain effects, we get a better sense of
where CSS needs to be expanded to reduce the need for convoluted
structural hacks.
Obviously I feel somewhat strongly about this, as css/edge is
devoted to such explorations. But I know, from e-mail feedback, that
a lot of people out there came to understand CSS better just by
figuring out how my demos work. Every time we play with CSS, we're
learning something-- whether it's new ways to use CSS effectively, or
the limits of what we're willing to do with CSS, or areas for future
expansion of CSS itself, or something else entirely. Personally, I'd
rather learn by playing than I would via dry lectures or tutorials,
and I'd know I'd rather teach that way. It isn't always possible,
but I do try.
--
Eric A. Meyer (http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/), List Chaperone
"CSS is much too interesting and elegant to be not taken seriously."
-- Martina Kosloff (http://www.mako4css.com/)
