Lesson 2: Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Technology

This week we have done a lot in Web Development class. First we Finished lesson1, HTML5 Essentials. On the topic of HTML essentials, we learned about the video element, the audio element and the Application Programming Interface (APL). The video element provides developers with a standard method to embed videos into their web pages. The audio element also provides developers with a standard method to embed audio into their web pages. Some developers use the video and audio elements because they are a lot easier to use and less stressful to the developers and the users compared to using plugins. Application Programming Interface (APL) is a source code specification that enables components of an application, or program to work together to produce the desired functionality. This means that APL works with other applications or programs to make a web page more flexible. Some examples of APL are Geolocation, Canvas, and Drag and Drop.

The other topic we learned this week was Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Technology. Last week we talked a little bit about using CSS to create the look and feel of a web page. This week, we learned more about the use and the functions of CSS.

CSS can be applied inline to individuals HTML elements on HTML page. It can be embedded within  HTML page to affect all specified elements on a page. It can also be collected in an external file that is linked to multiple HTML pages. CSS has some special benefits these benefits are: CSS easily gives an entire site a consistent look and feel. CSS makes the ability to change the look of an entire site very easily by simply changing one part of a single line of code.

CSS has three different versions. The first version is the CSS1. This version governs the basic structure of style sheets. The second version is CSS2. This version adds more capabilities to the CSS specification. The last version is CSS3. CSS3 is the version used in developing web pages now. It provides a modularized standard so that when changes are made to a style, one particular module within CSS3 will be update, rather than the entire standard.
In order to fully understand CSS and use it correctly you must know CSS terms and Syntax. There are a lot of CSS terms to know, but the most important terms to understand are: Selectors, Property, Value, Declaration and rule.
Selector: Any element you want to affect with a CSS style.
Property: How the selector renders in the browser.
Value: is used for defining the set of valid values for a CSS property or function.
Declaration: consists of property and value. A Declaration must always end with a semicolon.
Rule: selector, property, and value used or grouped together.
If you know and understand how to use these terms coding with CSS is very easy. Always make sure that when developing a web page with CSS you have consistency, this is because a consistent style sheet is easier to read, interpret, update and maintain. Also, make sure that a CSS style guide is used correctly. A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for the writing and/or design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field. Implementing a style guide provides uniformity in style and formatting within a document and across multiple documents.

I hope that you learned something here.