Rating:  - Another winner by Eric Meyer
I've seen graphical guides for CSS and I've seen very complete descriptions of CSS elements, but this book is a great combination of the two. For every styling element mentioned in this book, there is at least one diagram to help understand how it works. This way you can see exactly where the borders of an element are. This book isn't about making things pretty with CSS, in fact all the examples produce very ugly and plain results. The point instead is to show every single CSS element and what happens when you change the attributes of it.
I found this extremely useful for floating elements. There are 9 given situations where blocks are floating in the page. For each example, a supporting diagram shows where the element is put in the code of the page and where it actually will display based on the floating attributes and what other blocks are already on the page.
One thing the book could have used would be browser compatibility references. I know that support for page-break-before/after/inside is sketchy, but perhaps it's just beyond the scope of this book. It's a book about CSS styles and how they interact with each other, but not necessarily when it's safe to use them.
Rating: - Very clear!
This excellent book is easy to read, full of examples, and I have not found one bit of errata yet! The information in here is for persons making web pages. CSS will give you some web design skills that you will actually use!!!
Rating: - Give me O'Reilly or Give Me Death
Thus sayeth Patrick Henry. Or so he might have if he were alive today. It seems impossible to learn a new language or become proficient in an old one, without an O'Reilly book on the subject. And the CSS Guide is no exception.
Rating: - Fantastic reference for all levels
This book is a fantastic reference book for users of all levels. If you don't know CSS, it is a great introduction with easy-to-follow examples that start with very basic concepts. You can start at the beginning of this book and read it through. (In my experience, uncommon for many reference books.) If, however, you are familiar with CSS, you will still find this an extremely useful guide, as it covers in great detail everything you need to know in order to create complex CSS styles.
I thought the book was very accessible, and written in an easy-to-understand tone. My work bought this book as a reference for the developers in our office, and now I'm going to buy it to have a copy at home for my personal web development.
The book's only potential drawback was that I felt the index was a little sparse. I might have enjoyed a more comprehensive index; however, this can be a positive in that when you find an entry in the index you know it is useful because if it is indexed, it is because the topic is well covered on that page.
Great book. It is one of the very best "complete guide[s]" I've ever read.
Rating: - CSS The ["Most Excellent"] Definitive Guide
Reader Review: "CSS: The Definitive Guide" by Eric Meyer
CSS: The Definitive Guide Paperback
by Eric A Meyer
I'm a beginner; just learning and using CSS, and need finite assistance, a resource guide, and a mentor during my learning curve.
As a beginner, I've looked through several books, and in my opinion, I believe "CSS: The Definitive Guide" is exactly that, a definitive guide, but I also believe it deserves the words "Most Excellent" in the title. ;-]
When I received the book I was using Dreamweaver CS2, and in the process of converting older files to xhtml and CSS. I was in a problem solving mode concerning background images not showing in Dreamweaver's (wysiwyg), but the background image were showing in browser tests. Holding the book by the spine with my left hand, I separated the pages with my right hand forefinger and thumb, and it just happened to fall open at the book's approximate midsection, page 255, where one of the subheadings stated "Background Images". Wow! I was impressed at this serendipitous, and fortuitous accidental event.
As I read though a few paragraphs, I noted the examples, looked at the Dreamweaver code and made the changes according to the book. Immediately, Dreamweaver reacted and displayed the page as I had expected it to see it.
This book is not a cover to cover read where you curl up by the fire and read all night, it is a well indexed research support manual -- keep it within reach -- you got a problem w/CSS? -- articulate the problem in your mind, then solve the problem using this book's resources -- checking the adequate table of contents and/or index.
I'm presently involved in several computer projects, but this book keeps calling my name... I like it! I pick it up, open it, read a few paragraphs, and I am seeing and understanding a language that up until now, was just out of my reach. It is fun and rewarding to know I am beginning to understand a new language, CSS, and I am reminded of my 9th grade Spanish teacher who would praise us verbally saying when one of us (students) would read an English sentence then state it correctly in Spanish, "Now you're cooking with gas!" We all wanted, and worked hard to hear that reward, and now as I begin to "speak CSS" I feel that by saying the reward phrase to myself. ;-]
I love it when authors write about the subject, and even though it may be dry, they can offer a bit of humor. I also appreciate those authors who leave their ego out of the dialog, e.g., "now I am going to show you..." UGH!
(CSS) Cascading Style Sheets is of course, the accepted stylesheet language for describing and formatting the presentation of markup language documents, and this book can teach the reader to "read, speak, write and converse in the language."
The book "CSS: The Definitive Guide" goes to the point discussion, defines the point, often in more than one way, explains the principle of the rule, and when necessary shows example code and an illustrative example... what more could you ask? ... Color illustrations maybe ;-] -- Buy the book.
Jerry L Cline, Phx Az
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