Re: [Proposal] CSS gradients

On Dec 9, 2007, at 1:35 PM, Pascal Germroth wrote:

> John Oyler wrote:
>> SVG isn't appropriate in some instances. My understanding is that  
>> SVG is
>> for actual images, or at least elements of them (a curve or shape).
>> We're just talking about background colors here, but more than one of
>> them. Even with the data uri, they'd be messy just for a gradient,  
>> and
>> with an external uri to an svg file we're talking another http get  
>> for
>> something that's purely style.
>
> Well, most CSS requires another GET, too, and it's "purely style" by
> definition... (and other than CSS that's in the <head> or even  
> inlined,
> it's cacheable!)
>

Yeh, but this is the stylesheet mailing list. We're assuming that  
they've already included a css file, and if gradient can be rolled  
into it, that negates the need for another GET. Besides, style  
elements do exist as you point out, and if css has a gradient, it's  
possible it can be included even from the html itself.

> But wouldn't it be possible to embed both the SVG and the CSS into  
> the HTML

Already possible with data uri, but this feels like a dirty hack. It's  
either encoded in a way that makes it look like ascii gibberish, or  
such that it's partially readable, and both look downright fugly.

Using SVG for this isn't all that different from including a svg  
<rect> to put borders around your paragraph. It gives the right look  
potentially, but it seems bass ackwards. All new features should be  
carefully considered of course, but seeing so many websites week after  
week that make use of stylistic gradients, it would be useful. If it's  
style, then why are we telling people they need to use a vector image  
language, instead of the style language? It could probably be put into  
most renderers rather quickly too, since the effect is already present  
via SVG.

>
> Like:
> <html xmlns...>
>  <head>
>    <style type="text/css">
>      ... url(#gradient) ...
>    </style>
>    <svg id="gradient" xmlns...>
> ...
>
>
>
> -- 
> Pascal
>

John Oyler
john@discrevolt.com

Received on Sunday, 9 December 2007 19:21:06 UTC