css (borderline off-topic), was RE: your bloatware

js wrote:

:While I don't encounter much of a problem with HTML4, I don't use CSS
:much currently, because of the problems I've encountered with
:cross-platform compatibility and accessibility concerns.  Until differing
:browsers handle CSS similarly, I tend to avoid it.  If you don't, good on
:you.  My coding needs and user base may be very different from yours.

my addition:
one very helpful resource i have used for style sheets is bradbury's
topstyle editor (i'm not affiliated). in particular, i like the
cross-browser check, and the built-in w3c validation option. you can set it
to perform for various standards (such as which css definition you want to
use or what browser compatibility you want) and run a check to see what will
and won't work in the various browsers. it's not really that hard to do css
that degrades gracefully under those conditions. you can get a free (nag
ware) demo that is quite functional, or register for about $45 i believe.

as a note, i investigated several style sheet editors, and found this one
the best. i had never done thing one with style sheets before that and after
reading the docs and doing the tutorial, i feel comfortable that i can use
style sheets pretty effectively. and they are so powerful!

it is also my understanding that using style sheets as opposed to hard
coding style is helpful for making *more* accessible web documents,
separating structure from presentation and making it possible for users to
override your settings with their own settings and giving them more control
over how content is conveyed. plus on browsers without css support, they see
just a plainer version of your page--not hurting the usability at all. not
to mention how incredibly easy it is to implement style changes after you've
coded 20 pages!

i find the combination of amaya--only producing valid code--and style
sheets, doing things the "right" way, to be a great match, and am very
excited to be learning so much new stuff.

i'm sorry to hear the other list member had such a hard time with amaya; i
realize there are several things i am not currently informed enough to do,
like fiddling with source code or compiling my own version--many times i
don't really understand what you all are talking about (but that's how one
learns).  and people will clearly have a difficult time using the software
if they don't already have a good understanding of how to use html tags. but
i personally was thrilled with finding a mostly-wysiwyg editor that produces
valid code, i want to improve as a designer, and using amaya with css, i
believe, has really allowed me to do that, fwiw.

dixie vogel

Received on Monday, 3 April 2000 13:47:38 UTC