My Writings. My Thoughts.
CSS Mastery
// June 26th, 2009 // No Comments » // Recommendations
In the last few months I’ve decided it’s time to brush up on my CSS skills and this book came highly recommended.
The author, Brighton-based Andy Budd, is certainly the right man for the job. In the UK he is regarded as a leading member of the UK web standards scene. Andy is acommpanied by Cameron Moll and Simon Collison and the book is published by Friends of Ed; a well known and trusted source for the IT industry.
Andy frequently attends Web conferences to speak; some recordings of these can be found on youtube and other video sharing platforms.
Andy recommends that CSS Mastery is best for developers who have been using CSS for a while but don’t consider yourself to be a master just yet. I found this to be emphasised by the book’s first chapter (1. Setting the Foundations) which jumps straight into some CSS best practice such as how to properly use divs, spans, proper validation and cascade.
Chapter 2 moves onto a recap of visual formatting and gives briefings on proper terminology for the box model, positioning, floating and such. This recap came in great use for me to refresh and make these different methods seem a lot clearer. Throughout the book I found the style of writing enjoyable and made simple. Andy always points out the important hacks needed to implement certain elements in IE (and older browsers) and also explains exactly why they are needed. It will really make you appreciate the modern browser and raise questions such as ‘What were Microsoft thinking?’ [IE6].
The further chapters explain some fantastic CSS techniques, gradually becoming more and more complex. Andy’s knowledge of CSS support on different browsers and versions can only have come about from a lot of grueling time spent testing, and occasionally you can feel his frustration in his style of writing. This is often spun with an element of humour and makes for enjoyable reading.
The final chapters focus on two case studies which demonstrate how to implement a large range of the previously acquired skills to create finished websites.
One minor problem I encountered was that a couple of the recommended external links (tinyurls to save space) no longer existed - not a fault of Andy’s of course, though I find this is usually best solved by only linking to completely reputable websites or by creating content, for example on the book’s accompanying website.
Nevertheless, a book perhaps not for the CSS nooby, but for anything inbetween Novice and Pro. CSS Mastery has helped me further understand the language and the various tweaks needed for a website that is semantic and functional for all kinds of user on (almost) any kind of browser.
Is this the CSS book for you? Use Amazon’s fantastic Look Inside feature: http://tinyurl.com/kmfmf8
Dot to Dot Festival
// May 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Festivals, Music
Dot to Dot, Nottingham’s one day festival at numerous alternative clubs (Rock City, Stealth, Rescue Rooms, Trent Uni) kicked off yesterday at 1pm and finished this morning at 5am! Well done to all of those that managed to stay out for the entirety of the event.
The festival is a two day event, starting in Bristol on the Saturday and then Nottingham on the Sunday. The line up for the two days differs slightly.
Highlights included Friendly Fires, Ladyhawke, My Vitriol and Little Boots.
Friendly Fires really stole the show. Their modlic indie dance mixed with plenty of energy from the band made Rock City the best venue. Kid British provided something interesting, as did Little Boots with her Japanese Tenori-On musical instrument. This quirky device is quite frankly amazing!
Slam Dunk festival also took place in Leeds this weekend, another 1-dayer hosting the latest ska/alternative/emo/punk.
Digi-Vu: A Green Achiever
// May 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Posts
Our company, Digi-Vu, has recently been awarded the Green Achiever award.
Woo Themes
// May 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Recommendations
Just a quick recommendation:
Woo Themes, nice Wordpress themes!
http://www.woothemes.com/
Up And Running
// September 5th, 2008 // No Comments » // Posts
Firstly, wow! I believe everybody should be using WordPress.
- A quick and easy installation.
- Great interface, easily customisable to current website.
- Widgets etc.
- Easily add media to posts.
I could go on, but I won’t.
This blog will primarily be used to log my final year project, so therefore it will be in lock down mode very shortly.
I do, however, intend to create a second WordPress installation, in which I will post relevant, well written and hopefully useful articles.
Well, thats all for now, Ciao!
