some CSS references for project X

Sadly, we don’t use PHP and CSS every day, nor do we have people to talk with about them, so we scamper around the Internets a lot looking for information, help, and code examples.

One of the things we had to do with project X is make a pleasing design for end users. We consulted out books, but were uninspired. Besides, our books were “too fancy” for the project at hand. But happily, we found some inspiration in a british site that has downloadable web templates. We actually didn’t end up using any of their templates, but they were enough of a spark to get us focused on our end design.

We misplaced our facts about using images and links in CSS this project (our minds are growing fuzzy in the winter months–if only someone turned on the heat in this place!), so HTMLSource’s tips on using images with CSS helped a bit.

Also, there is the trickiness of making things appear and disappear in CSS. display: none and display:block to the rescue.

We really hate IE. Sure, we’ve been told that we will love IE7, but once bitten, twice shy and all of that. Still, we have to code with IE’s float errors and such. We love Position is Everything, and their page on magins, floats, and IE was a lifesaver. The problem is largely with varying box models. Thankfully, tantek has some nice box model hacks at the WaSP project that are nifty and helpful.

EDIT: Hey Mac users, Microsoft no longer has your back. Seems that after years of proprietary coding standards and forcing people to code especially for IE, MS is pulling the rug out from under Mac users. As of January 2006, they will no longer offer up downloads of IE, nor will they support it. The irony is that they recommend better, more standards-based browsers such as Safari and Opera. Which is exactly what we, as web developers, have been telling people to use for years.