CSS, The Definitive Guide

I've not added much lately. Oops, how many blog entries start that way? Hang on, this is not a blog! Though I have to admit the default layout Drupal sets up does make the front page look terribly like a blog.

This is the best book I've read in quite a long time. CSS, The Definitive Guide, by Eric Meyer, published by O'Reilly. It's hard to find a second rate book from O'Reilly. And I'm also reading another book by Eric Meyer, excellent.

I want to understand CSS so as to modify a Drupal theme to my taste. I'd already picked up some stuff on CSS, the kind of things that are obvious if you simply browse some stylesheets, such as fonts and colours, but I was vague about how one style would override another and how to control layout (I use tables even though I know it makes modernists giggle). I don't doubt I could find all the CSS I'd need by looking around on the web, but I still like reading a real book. At last things like floating and positioning are falling into place, along with the significance of padding and margins.

Suddenly I'm a born-again CSS believer, oh yeah, hallelujah! I suspect this will only be a temporary high and my next mountain to climb will be browser compatibility. But coming late to CSS is in my favour, I'll not lose much sleep nowadays if my site is messy if viewed with IE5.

This book doesn't talk down to you the way "XYZ for Dummies in 10 minutes" does, it's written in a light style without being jokey. It doesn't shrink from quoting the actual CSS specs, but then goes on to show in straightforward fashion what the formal language means, with good diagrams where appropriate. What more can I say? Damn good writing. If you want to learn CSS and have a book you'll also want to keep handy for reference in the future, buy it.

OK, now I just have to figure out how to make a referral link that gives me commission! :) However, at present I've not done that. I just really like this book, no hidden motive.