francky wrote:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I found this as an example on one of the font specification pages
referenced via the font thread email. This would be useful, but appears
to be only implemented in CSS2. As a designer or user how do you
access/force CSS2? Is it even viable at this time?
h2 { font-stretch: expanded; }
The w3c site says:
[...]
I am afraid you cannot force a browser to support a non-supported
property.
[...]
Then [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote off list:
What was the expression you used a couple months back? Addicting?
Yes i think so. Yes it is also all very confusing at times. I also
found the font-stretch description on the w3c website - as well as
the ericmeyer page. Maybe I'm asking the wrong questions. These
questions may sound rather elementary, but...
1) Is CSS a function of the browser or OS, meaning that the viewer
is limited by what browser and version is installed on the PC?
2) If so, is there probably to be found a cross-reference chart to
compare?
3) If not, is it a function of the OS, say Linux, Mac, Windows 98-XP?
4) How do you check the version of CSS?
5) Depending on the above, what is the accepted standard to code for?
If you think the answers should go to the group, that is fine.
-Bob
= = = = =
Hi Bob,
I'm not a specialist in semantic definitions, but I'll try to say what I
understand. I send it to the list as well, for additions and to check if
I'm right... ;-)
Ad 1)
I think everything you see on screen, is in some way a function of the
basic instructions of the computer: the OS.
Next layer is the browser: kind of function of the OS. The Windows-OS
can be the basic of IE, FF, Opera, and so on. But other OS's need
sometimes adapted browsers or other types of browsers. The Mac OS has
some Mac-only browsers, see
http://darrel.knutson.com/mac/www/browsers.html.
The OS is a condition for which (adapted) version of a browser you can
download/install. For instance the W3C browser/editor Amaya has also
different downloads for different versions of an OS (Win98 or WinXP,
..): http://www.w3.org/Amaya/User/BinDist.html
Html and css are languages: instruction-sets how a browser has to
display a web page.
* If the source code has a p, then every browser has to know that
it means a new paragraph is starting. How a browser is making the
input p to the output new paragraph on screen is something the
browser-program has to do: in case of IE the machine Iexplorer.exe
and all the dll's, client-settings in the registry and so on,
which are connected with the browser program. The browser has to
interpret the html!
* If the css has a style #div2 { width: 76.5%; }, nested in a #div1
{ width: 80.3%; }, the css-rules say what a browser has to do in
order to compute the result for #div2 at a certain available
window-width. It depends on the built-in instructions of the
browser, what is the result. First take the amount of px of the
screen, multiply with 80.3%, rounding off to 1px (or 2, 3, ..
decimals), then multiply with 76.5%, and rounding off to 1px? - Or
first take the amount of px of the screen, multiply with 80.3%,
not rounding off, multiply with 76.5%, and then rounding off to
1px? Or take a non-inheritance as starting point, and just compute
76.5% of the screen width? The result will be different! - And how
rounding off? 840.6px = 840px or 841px?
The browser has to interpret the css too!
* But the css-rules are recommendations, no laws! (Wish they were).
And sometimes indeed the css-rules let it open how to be
interpreted. Anyway, it is not forbidden if a browser doesn't
follow the guidelines; no punishment, no sanctions...
* Especially A Certain Browser is thinking it can have it's own
rules. I call it systematic errors. But a legion of web makers
have to trick and hack to get workarounds...
* Complicating factor: some web developing programs (no names,
MS-Frontpage! The MS-Word one click conversion to web page is
another nightmare) are building beautiful web pages just full of
proprietary codes, working not standards compliant / cross
browser, but only for The Certain One (without mentioning that
they are making IE-only pages)... feeding the upside down
exclamations Hé, in IE my page is good, FF doesn't display it in
the right way!.
* And sometimes there are just browser-bugs: sometimes
incidentally, triggered by a complex surrounding css (and
sometimes by nobody-does-know). See for instance the known bugs
by browser in PIE: http://www.positioniseverything.net/explorer.html
So: yes, the visitor is dependent on the browser(-interpretations) on
his computer. If the browser is limited (not supporting a certain
css-rule - or not supporting a certain proprietary code made
