Ahhh, nothing like a rousing Drupal session to get the spark going! A big thanks goes out to everyone who attended. Great questions, great answers!
After getting the Drupal gears lubed up a bit more, I am continuing to see where a solid foundation in CSS can go a long way in continuing development. I am familiar with firebug and have done some minor themeing, but I really need to reach out and grasp how CSS works on a higher-level to be more efficient and continue onward with things like Javascript and the DOM.
Does anyone out there have any recommendations on books that really spell-out some of the major concepts and practices of writing CSS? Designing with CSS for a Beautiful Web that Josh mentioned when he was here will eventually go on the shelf, but maybe something a bit more "to-the-point" regarding the markup itself?
Thanks again! Good stuff.
-Brett
Comments
Cascading Style Sheets: Designing for the Web
This is what w3c recommends on their website: http://www.amazon.com/Cascading-Style-Sheets-Designing-Web/dp/0321193121
I may get a copy of this too. But unfortunately don't have a good recommendation beyond that. I started to ferret through my books when I saw this message and realized everything I've learned about CSS has been online from the w3c website or other tutorials. http://www.w3schools.com/css/
~Nathan
Sitepoint
I've had some real luck with Sitepoint publications.
Here are a few of my favorites:
That being said, when I was teaching myself CSS, I wished that I had someone I could ask the "dumb" questions to. In other words, there are so many things that books just assume you know or assume you'll figure out. I remember it taking me forever to grasp just the code formatting part of writing CSS! That comes naturally now, but no one was around to explain it to me when I needed to learn it.
I, along with many other members of our group, am always available for any of the little questions which may pop up while trying to learn CSS or HTML or Drupal or JavaScript or whatever. If specific questions come up, let us know here, or email me at scottwrouse@gmail.com.
Best,
Scott
Scott Rouse
http://about.me/scott.rouse
Reference.SitePoint.com
I did forget to mention that SitePoint does have a great online CSS reference available for free. Check it out at http://reference.sitepoint.com/css. The Concepts section may be a good place to start.
They also offer online courses (for a small fee). I haven't taken any of their courses, but they may be helpful.
If you choose to take one, be sure and let us know your thoughts.
Scott Rouse
http://about.me/scott.rouse
CSS Zen Garden
I was really lucky to work in the same office as a CSS guru when I was trying to teach myself CSS - I asked him a whole lot of dumb questions.
Truthfully, I get bored when I try to read the books, even though I realize they are a good way to learn. It's still more fun to learn by seeing, for me - so for that, the CSS Zen Garden http://www.csszengarden.com (though slightly abandoned) was an invaluable resource. I'm not sure if it's 100% current, but it's an excellent show and tell set up. I also like CSS Tricks http://css-tricks.com/.
And because it's Friday, and it's been a long week, I'll also send along this silly video: http://www.vimeo.com/3718294. I think about the CSS...ssss...ssss when I think about those style sheets.
--Emily
Another CSS option...
We used 'the Zen of CSS design' by Dave Shea and Molly E. Holzschlg in our CSS class. Written by the Zen CSS dude himself (I believe) and it goes hand in hand with the site mentioned above and the namesake.
It may be a bit dated (isn't everything by the time it's printed or in retail?) but...
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-CSS-Design-Visual-Enlightenment/dp/0321303474
CSS books
When I was learning I got a lot out of these 2 Eric Meyer books:
* http://www.ericmeyeroncss.com/
* http://more.ericmeyeroncss.com/
Great step-by-step chapters. A little dated probably at this point, but a great foundation for the basics. This guy is one of the top 5 CSS experts in the world, and these 2 books are much more easy to learn from IMO than some of his other books.
When you're ready to take it farther, and get more up-to-date with CSS3 etc, Transcending CSS is fantastic.
I also got a lot out of Bulletproof Web Design.
And finally, Designing with Web Standards is really essential, and incredibly funny and well-written! All web people should have this book.
I would also search Amazon and pay close attention to user reviews, they can really be helpful.
I've also found the SitePoint stuff to be very helpful.
Hope that helps!