The zengarden example is as you say in an impressive set of examples of what can be done with CSS, but I agree with DogTags and webmaster33 that CSS is not quite capable yet of covering various table type layouts and also forms and not too easy to manage when they get long. I've also found that dynamically generated content when the text varies in length and these items are placed one after each other which means different hights are pretty tricky to deal with.
This said CSS is not presently an end all solution. At the moment I feel it is a transitional phase since it provides a great amount of power for web page design but not all browsers are compatible and often tweaks are required even between compatible browsers. If the question is "Is it worth investing in CSS?" I personally am. With the venue of FireFox I think Microsoft will be less inclined to reject the W3C's standards. Not that FireFox is sure to win any battles but I think it will have an impact and Microsoft's image as a monopoly on the web browser front which is not good even for Microsoft.
This leads to the compatibility issue. Having worked on large web sites in Europe for several years I personally get really mad about having to design web pages in such a way that certain key functions are dropped because of old browsers. That said I understand the situation, do you want to push away potential clients if we're talking about a business. My usage is not for profit, not a business and so I don't really want to think about spending an extra month or more of my time for a very small percentage of my target population and reduce functionality for everyone else in the process.
I do agree however with the stance that says producing flash navigation with christmas bells etc. for the sake of being "flash" (excuse me for the pun) is a bit over the top for me. When multimedia type content is provided for demos, training etc I see the gain but having the page moving all over the place to please the designer just seems excessive.
Javascript, sorry not really thought about it but the comments posted above seem interesting and the GoogleMail reference seems to back the move from my point of view. BTW What is the difference between ActiveX and Javascript (a bit blurred in my mind) the first always seems to be coming up in security discussions I have at work and being far more dangerous than Java.
Product manuals. I think that an html version would be good and a pdf version I don't see the need for a word version.
I think that an installation tutorial would be a good idea, especially for new users even if you are talking about automatic updates. Permission to speak freely ? I can understand working in the computer consultant industry that it is interesting to have clients refer to the editor to install the software but making it easy to install will open new doors and let you provide other services and/or functionality and many who would have asked for the editor to install will most probably do so anyway.
I think that providing a guide to explain how you can change things, which version it applies to and what level you need to be to do it etc. would be a tremendous plus for everyone. I think that just like Laura says above that being able to refer people to hands on areas that explain in clear and simple english what they need to do would be great. The only issue I see would be making sure that the tutorials indicate for example if the modifications only work with version X.X and not with Oracle but will run under mod_perl etc.
Just out of curiosity have you ever thought about creating a workgroup system that would enable programmers to work together on specific tasks and/or a points system that would reward people that provide feedback to other users that they feel has provided them with the solution they were looking for ?
I would really, really, really like to see the editors in LinksSQL being able to manage more in the validation process...
The one are that I feel is not that easy to manage is the templates that are used on LinksSQL to create links, the way they are ordered and displayed.
Oh and what type of security checks will be incorporated to ensure that hackers can't use the automatic updates system to attack the server ?
Significant Media
This said CSS is not presently an end all solution. At the moment I feel it is a transitional phase since it provides a great amount of power for web page design but not all browsers are compatible and often tweaks are required even between compatible browsers. If the question is "Is it worth investing in CSS?" I personally am. With the venue of FireFox I think Microsoft will be less inclined to reject the W3C's standards. Not that FireFox is sure to win any battles but I think it will have an impact and Microsoft's image as a monopoly on the web browser front which is not good even for Microsoft.
This leads to the compatibility issue. Having worked on large web sites in Europe for several years I personally get really mad about having to design web pages in such a way that certain key functions are dropped because of old browsers. That said I understand the situation, do you want to push away potential clients if we're talking about a business. My usage is not for profit, not a business and so I don't really want to think about spending an extra month or more of my time for a very small percentage of my target population and reduce functionality for everyone else in the process.
I do agree however with the stance that says producing flash navigation with christmas bells etc. for the sake of being "flash" (excuse me for the pun) is a bit over the top for me. When multimedia type content is provided for demos, training etc I see the gain but having the page moving all over the place to please the designer just seems excessive.
Javascript, sorry not really thought about it but the comments posted above seem interesting and the GoogleMail reference seems to back the move from my point of view. BTW What is the difference between ActiveX and Javascript (a bit blurred in my mind) the first always seems to be coming up in security discussions I have at work and being far more dangerous than Java.
Product manuals. I think that an html version would be good and a pdf version I don't see the need for a word version.
I think that an installation tutorial would be a good idea, especially for new users even if you are talking about automatic updates. Permission to speak freely ? I can understand working in the computer consultant industry that it is interesting to have clients refer to the editor to install the software but making it easy to install will open new doors and let you provide other services and/or functionality and many who would have asked for the editor to install will most probably do so anyway.
I think that providing a guide to explain how you can change things, which version it applies to and what level you need to be to do it etc. would be a tremendous plus for everyone. I think that just like Laura says above that being able to refer people to hands on areas that explain in clear and simple english what they need to do would be great. The only issue I see would be making sure that the tutorials indicate for example if the modifications only work with version X.X and not with Oracle but will run under mod_perl etc.
Just out of curiosity have you ever thought about creating a workgroup system that would enable programmers to work together on specific tasks and/or a points system that would reward people that provide feedback to other users that they feel has provided them with the solution they were looking for ?
I would really, really, really like to see the editors in LinksSQL being able to manage more in the validation process...
The one are that I feel is not that easy to manage is the templates that are used on LinksSQL to create links, the way they are ordered and displayed.
Oh and what type of security checks will be incorporated to ensure that hackers can't use the automatic updates system to attack the server ?
Significant Media
