Looking for Expert CSS Book

Discussion in 'CSS' started by BlogSalesman, Jan 28, 2008.

  1. #1
    BlogSalesman, Jan 28, 2008 IP
  2. soulscratch

    soulscratch Well-Known Member

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    #2
    Beginning CSS Dev by Collison would be a good book for novices with some HTML experience.
    Pro CSS Techniques would be the next step up, although I didn't learn much from this or the previous one.
    Pro HTML/CSS Patterns was probably the highest level CSS book I've encountered.. just really a step above every other book ..

    If you have no prior experience with CSS, you'll only get confused and frustrated (especially with IE) so I suggest you only get the first I mentioned and try to grasp the concepts.

    I would use w3.org as a reference, not the definitive version.
     
    soulscratch, Jan 28, 2008 IP
  3. shallowink

    shallowink Well-Known Member

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    #3
    I'd go with the one by Meyer. Just off how much I picked up from his website.
     
    shallowink, Jan 28, 2008 IP
  4. soulscratch

    soulscratch Well-Known Member

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    #4
    I would not recommend reading a definitive version or specification on anything until you've at least tinkered around with something to know how it works. With CSS, you won't learn anything (unless you're a genius that is) by reading how things are rendered in your EARLY days, you should experiment by yourself or get a book with some experiments/projects in it.

    I've read Meyer's hands on books and while his CSS may be good, he didn't explain much and expected you to understand things which isn't novice friendly. I would highly recommend Collisons or the one Dan Schulz recommends, Ian Lloyd's Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML & CSS.. skimmed through that and it looked good.

    And to give you an idea of what I've read...

    Bulletproof CSS (cederholm)
    Web Standards Solutions (cederholm)
    Designing with Web Standards (zeldman)
    Designing for the web (hakon wium lie and bert bos)
    The Apress ones I listed above
    CSS Mastery (budd) - huge errata
    Designing CSS Web Pages (schmitt)
    Eric Meyer / More eric meyer on css (meyer)
    HTML, CSS quickstart 4th ed. (castro)

    You can find some recommendations @ http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=GoodBooks
     
    soulscratch, Jan 28, 2008 IP
  5. shallowink

    shallowink Well-Known Member

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    #5
    I agree with you. But the OP seemed to be pretty adamant about his desires. If it was my recommendation overall, not limited to two pre selected books. I wouldn't recommend any. There's plenty of resources on the web to pick up CSS. Sounds like the OP doesn't want novice friendly. And if he's a programmer most of the basics of CSS are easy to learn. Read the web stuff and buy a reference book. Best advice.
     
    shallowink, Jan 28, 2008 IP
  6. BlogSalesman

    BlogSalesman Well-Known Member

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    #6
    Shallowink is right, I am in no way a novice. I am looking for something to strengthen my skills, and I think I will go with your advice and get a reference. I have found a great deal of advanced CSS tips on the web, so now I just need to choose:

    Pro HTML/CSS Patterns
    or
    The Definitive Guide
     
    BlogSalesman, Jan 28, 2008 IP
  7. soulscratch

    soulscratch Well-Known Member

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    #7
    Oh, I misread your statement.. thought you said "know html but don't know css" .. hehe
     
    soulscratch, Jan 28, 2008 IP
  8. KatieK

    KatieK Active Member

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    #8
    I've got Meyer's CSS The Definitive Guide and it's very thorough, but it starts out at a pretty basic level. I know it's not on your list anymore, but I'd recommend Cedarholm's Bulletproof Web Design. It's a fast moving guide with practical CSS examples.

    You might be at the point where you should walk into a technical bookstore and just flip through these books.
     
    KatieK, Jan 28, 2008 IP