The future of CSS?

What the W3C announced for the next CSS incarnation (CSS3) is'nt exactly groundbreaking IMHO, so I wondered what you guys would love to have in CSS3.

Here's something I've found at Ajaxian:

Code:

---

@define hlColor red;
@define hlBgColor yellow;
@define oUpdateColor #3f5070;

.highlight {
 color: {hlColor};
 text-decoration: underline;
}

.updated {
 @importRule '.highlight';
 background-color: {hlBgColor};
}

.updatedByOthers {
 @importRule '.updated';
 color: {oUpdateColor}; /* a nice dark blue */
}

.side_panel {
 float: left;
 width: 250px;
}

.main_panel {
 float: left;
 width: {100% - 250px};
}

---

This would solve so many problems and it really is'nt an issue with the content/code/design separation. While yes, this is code, it is design supporting code, so it should be excatly where you define the design and not somewhere in a script block. I would'nt even mind having some loops and functions in there.

Fredi

I agree with the formulaic width statement. I've wanted to do something like width: 30%-25px so many times now.

Didn't they add column based rendering this time around? What is new exactly? I haven't done CSS in years.

Yes, multi-column layouts are now possible.

Here's a nice preview: http://www.css3.info/preview/

There are some good things they added:

- Multiple backgrounds
- Box-shadow
- Opacity (please IE, follow the standard!)
- Attribute selectors

Fredi

I'm all for some added functionality. CSS needs all the tweak-ability it can get. Sadly, it really doesn't mean jack squat what W3C puts out now does it? We'll only ever be at the mercy of browser developers and how they choose to implement it. I don't see any reason to believe that's going to stop any time soon. That is, unless the answer comes from where I've always said the answer should come from and that is dev tools. It's not impossible to develop apps like I've described in the past where design is handed back to the designers coders only have to worry about logic.

I've had this vision of such an app rolling around my head since I first realized what I was up against. I've since put a lot of thought into how a gui would work and how styles might be generated automatically. And that usually means someone else is out there with the time and know how to make that happen thinking the same thing.


afterthought: would be a cool group project for the CL no?

Is your mystery application called flash?

I wish. If only adobe would open up the player to spiders (I mean for real).
But I actually see it being done in AIR.

I must say, the inclusion of rounded corners alone is enough to get excited about. Multiple backgrounds? yummy. Too bad IE will no doubt FK it up.

In IE, rounded corners will be oval, I'm sure. :p

Fredi

hehe if they render at all.

i'm only interested in CSS thats cross browser, whether small hacks or filters are required or not. CSS that works in one browser and not another just means too much extra work that most clients won't pay for IMO. That includes IE screw ups or mozilla/webkit proto-types.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1stbite

i'm only interested in CSS thats cross browser, whether small hacks or filters are required or not. CSS that works in one browser and not another just means too much extra work that most clients won't pay for IMO. That includes IE screw ups or mozilla/webkit proto-types.

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That's how all CSS implementations start out though. Given a few years these standards will be implemented in most browsers how you want them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yasunobu13

...these standards will be implemented in most browsers how you want them.

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thats the problem... these standards may be implemented in most browsers and if your lucky how you want them.

were still waiting on a lot of CSS1 implementations to be adopted widely let along looking to closely at the future of implementations of CSS3.

if were lucky we will get 25-40% of whats been added implemented sufficiently across all main browser vendors and even then we will probably be relying on hacks and filters to make some of them work right.

I'll reserve my excitement for each individual feature that slowly surfaces as properly usable like the opacity which has been in use for a while now using hacks and filters.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yasunobu13

That's how all CSS implementations start out though. Given a few years these standards will be implemented in most browsers how you want them.

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what on earth gave you that idea?

CSS 2 has a mostly standard implementation at this point across browsers

I think you will find that there is still a lot of W3C recommendations for CSS2 that are still not implemented across all of the main browser vendors, just because we have a good basic subset which mainly stems back from what was initially supported from CSS1 and a selection of CSS2 it does not mean we have a good standard implementation but just more of a uniformed adoption of some of the standard from the main browser vendors.

Maybe I'm corrupted by languages that are more flexible. I just can't get excited about things like multiple columns and box shadows. They seem mundane at this point. Like getting excited about a bicycle with a carburator... "We've been able to make motorcycles for a long time." :D

bah, bring back the blink tag... or better yet. bring in the bling tag.

well, it's pretty simple from my mundane web point of view. We should be learning for the future and coding for the past. Yet one more reason why i'm unfortunately still coding for 800x600 :crazy:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gerbick

bring in the bling tag.

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http://c.myspace.com/Groups/00007/46/04/7404064_s.gif

hah. can you imagine a bling tag?!

it would change the face of mySpace in a matter of days.

Ha! I was thinking the same thing, FL.