HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
Multiple column layouts. It is very common to use CSS floats to create mul-
tiple column layouts; this everyone knows. But this is somewhat of a hack.
Floats were never originally intended for this purpose. They were intended
for simple magazine layout image floats.
Dynamic UIs. Many “dynamic UI features,” such as layouts that automati-
cally adapt to different screen widths and smooth animations and transi-
tions for user feedback, have been traditionally done using JavaScript. There
was no way to achieve them using CSS alone until recently; hence, the rise
of DHTML in the late 1990s (yuck!) and more recently, the overwhelming
popularity of JavaScript libraries, such as jQuery and Dojo.
And the list goes on. CSS3 was created not to give users a completely new set of
amazing features to play with and create “spangly web innovations” (a great design
agency name if ever there was one), but more to provide users with standardized,
more flexible ways of solving existing problems.
There are now more than 40 modules in CSS3 at various stages of completion
and browser support. The modular system is beneficial in many ways. It makes
CSS3 easier to write by the spec teams and implement by the browser vendors: It
is always easier to tackle small chunks than a single giant monolith. It also makes
it easier for web designers and developers to get their heads around, and in my
opinion, it makes it easier to “sell” to clients who may have issues about using
“unfinished” technologies in their sites (yes, CSS 2.1 was technically only finished
in 2011, but hey).
