WSS review, part 1 Dec27 '04

I am currently reading Web Standards Solutions, by Dan Cederholm.

I have decided to write about each new thing I learn from the book.

Since the book is 16 chapters long, I am going to break it down into four parts, each entailing four chapters each.

I have completed reading chapters 1–4, and what follows are my thoughts and ideas on new things I’ve learned.

Chapter 1 – Lists

This chapter is only 11 pages long, so there wasn’t much NEW information for me, but there was one thing that stood out.

When creating a horizontal list of links (as in site navigation TABS), Dan mentions floating each link (page 11):

#minitabs a { float: left; ... }

I have the same setup for my navigation links at the top, except I don’t float each link, within the list. This is interesting, and I may see if it helps my navigation out at all.

Chapter 2 – Headings

There was nothing in this chapter that I don’t already commit to.

Chapter 3 – Tables Are Evil?

Within tables, I’ve never used the elements, <thead>, <tbody>, or <tfoot> before. It is interesting how their inclusion allows for easier styling with CSS (page 38).

I’ve also never used the CSS property/value: border–collapse: collapse;. I see this helps with creating a precise, single–pixel appearance for table cells (page 41).

Chapter 4 – Quotations

I use the <blockquote> element all the time, but I never knew it had an attribute, cite, which allows a URI as a value – which would be the URI to the resource that you are citing (page 55).

Also, the <q> element is new to me. This is for inline quotes, such as:

I said, <q>John, do you like the weather?</q>.

Chapters 5 through 8 coming soon

Soon I will write my thoughts on chapters 5 through 8. Great book, so far.

Categories: Books , Web Development

Add Feedback (view all)

Leave feedback

Feedback

Input format: The editor controls below will assist with Markdown syntax.

Status

Sub-status

Your info Name: Email (will not show on page):

Follow new comments via email? (You can turn this off any time)

Do you want your comments emailed to yourself?

Home Page (optional):

matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from a suburb of Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.