I have a grasp on the basic concepts of CSS, having learned mostly through trial and error; however, I want to learn the aspects in a more organized fashion. So far I have taken the style sheets that came with some templates and reworked them to achieve the effects I desired. This method isn’t ideal though, because it means that if I haven’t seen it done, I won’t know how to implement a particular feature.

This is where written guides come in. I have looked at several websites that offer tutorials and guides such as:

I also decided that while these online resources are extremely helpful (and free!), they don't provide the benefit that comes with reading something in printed form. For that reason I went out yesterday and purchased Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide. Even though this book is a little old--having been written in 2000--people still give it very good reviews as a reference and learning tool. The only thing this book lacks is in-depth discussion of CSS2--something I'm not ready to delve into anyway. So far I'm just sticking with learning all I can about CSS1. I will find resources for CSS2 when that time comes.

My hope is that with the help of all these resources I will gain a full understanding of CSS and be able to do really nifty things with it--clean up my code and maybe even get rid of those tables! I'll be reading for awhile I suspect, so changes aren't going to happen right away. Hopefully in the near future... :)

Posted at 11:38 AM |