Sent by Arlen P Walker on 31 January 2003 19:07
>A simple question. I think that I have this right:
No question about CSS is simple!
>A pixel is relative, to the resolution of the screen, right? Therefore,
>it is not an absolute thing, and 12 pixels on my pc will be bigger than
>if I were to see 12 pixels on my cell phone, right?
Depends. Are you talking about the hardware pixel or the CSS unit pixel?
And further, are we talking about the CSS unit pixel from the spec or the
CSS unit pixel as implemented in most browsers?
"The suggested reference pixel is the visual angle of one pixel on a device
with a pixel density of 90dpi and a distance from the reader of an arm's
length. For a nominal arm's length of 28 inches, the visual angle is about
0.0227 degrees."
So says the W3C. Most browser makers have implented CSS pixels as
1/hardware pixel, but the CSS spec actual creates a hypothetical pixel,
defines it, and then tells everyone it's OK to ignore this definition on
visual displays which do not significantly differ from 90dpi. Conveniently
not defining "significantly differ." (Right now displays differ from that
by as much as 40%, Is *that* a significant difference? I don't know, you
tell me.) Conveniently ignoring that current browsers have no way of
knowing if the display *is* significantly different from 90dpi.
No, it's *not* a simple question, Mike. ;{>}
(BTW, *are* cell phone pixels smaller than "normal" LCD pixels? I thought
they were about the same physical size.)
Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224
[EMAIL-REMOVED]
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In God we trust; all others must provide data.
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Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
If JCI had an opinion on this, they'd hire someone else to deliver it.