Re: @import

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jukka K. Korpela" <jkorpela@cs.tut.fi>
Subject: RE: @import


> Regarding the development of the CSS specifications, the topic of this
> list, I might raise the question whether the restriction of putting
> @import first should be removed. Is there any _logical_ reason to it? If
> not, hopefully the technical issues could be settled down. CSS is
> difficult and confusing by its very nature; it shouldn't be made even
> harder by imposing arbitrary, hard-to-remember restrictions.


I would argue the opposite. Supposing it was jour job to decipher style
rules given to you that were spread out over a number of different
documents. Here is an example (akin to a nested list):

imported sheet
    imported sheet
        rules
        more rules
    rules
    more rules
rules
more rules
imported sheet
    rules
    imported sheet
        rules
    rules
rules
imported sheet


Now suppose the specification allowed user agents to process these rules
(including the imports) in the order that they appeared. It would be
extremely difficult to understand what was going on. Determining specifity
would be a headache, would it not? At least with the restriction on keeping
the @import rules at the head of each style sheet, a clear, easy-to-decipher
hierarchy is established.

Simon Jessey

w: http://jessey.net/blog/
e: simon@jessey.net

Received on Monday, 30 June 2003 08:08:40 UTC