Re: [css3-color] #rrggbbaa annotation

On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 3:47 AM, Alberto Lepe <dev@alepe.com> wrote:
> Who else is supporting this addition?

As someone who's been hand-coding hex colors on the fly for several
years, count me in.

Honestly, I can more easily recognize a color in #rrggbb notation than
in rgb(): on the later, I actually bring up calc and convert the
values to hex so I can identify the color without having to try it
out. It's nice to have rgb/a() and named colors for those people who
ain't so proficient with power-of-2-based numeric systems, but it
doesn't make any sense adding an inconsistence to CSS just because
some people don't like hex.

While some have complained that adding it would mean people having to
learn yet another notation, that's almost nothing compared to people
having to understand that there is rgba() matching rgb(), there is
hsla() matching hsl(), but there isn't #rrggbbaa nor #rgba matching
#rrggbb and #rgb??

Honestly, would average users really think that something like
#12345678 is using hex for three of the channels but then something
else for the last one?? (BTW, that example would be a
semi-transparent, unsaturated, dark teal) Those who have issues with
hex will already be troubled by #rrggbb and probably be using other
notations (or using some tool that makes the actual notation purely
irrelevant).

Personally, I'd be happy even with something like rgba(0x12, 0x34,
0x56, 0x78), although this doesn't solve the issues of
photoshop-color-copy-pasters, nor does it provide consistency across
the different color notations available in CSS, so I advocate for
#rrggbbaa.

Personally, I find the refusal to allow binary-brained people
hex-press alpha channels almost insulting; and breaking consistency in
order to make the language more restrictive at no gain seems
completely nonsensical. Can anyone bring forth any *objective*
argument against #rrggbbaa/#rgba? (and keep in mind that "it's ugly"
is an aesthetic perception, so it is not objective... actually, I find
rgb() and its kind ugly, and hex-notation quite elegant).

Regards,
Eduard Pascual

Received on Monday, 5 April 2010 02:55:59 UTC