Every now and then you run across a manufacturer whose products are head and shoulders above the rest of the industry. Think Rolls Royce and automobiles; Nakamichi and cassette tape players, Audio Research and loud speakers. I'm quite sure you can think of your own list. One down side to these top-of-the-line manufacturers: You pay a premium for their product.
O'Reilly Media is one such: They publish the best computer books on the market - period, full stop, end of sentence, paragraph, story. I have been purchasing O'Reilly books since the early 1990s, and only twice have I been disappointed. But I own more than 20 of their books.
CSS Cookbook is not one of those disappointments. Mr. Schmitt has written a very good companion to Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide. He shows you how to actually use all that information, giving you (as the cover says) "Quick Solutions to Common CSS Problems." Schmitt gives you not only a description of the problem and its solution, but also a short discussion about aspects of the way CSS is used in his solution that you can translate quite easily into challenges you face that may be quite dissimilar to the ones presented. He also tells you where to go to find more or other, related information.
Just looking at the Table of Contents gives an idea of the problems faced by other CSS developers, and the solutions that can keep you out of trouble. To be quite honest, I think some of his early problem/solution discussions are a bit simplistic, but as you proceed further into the book, you find that he builds upon those early solutions. On the other hand, if you know what you want, you can look it up right in the Table of Contents and go directly there. Of course, it would probably be a good idea to read or skim the entire book at least once so you can get an idea of what is in there before focusing in on specifics. Who knows? You may find some helpful information away from where you would expect. (My example is the "+" sign in the tag; I found a new trick!)
While the focus of the book is, naturally, using Cascading Style Sheets, Schmitt also brings in HTML and JavaScript. He shows how these three elements combine to give you a much better, much more effective, and even more attractive Web page and site. Oh, by the way, it is easy to see the author had his share of flubs and oopsies, many of his solutions are quite practical in application.
I do wish the author had included a short discussion about the stylistic use of what he presents. Remember the "BLINK" command in Netscape's HTML? Remember how it was used to distraction by every developer? Wouldn't it have been nice if someone had said "Here is 'BLINK'. Now don't use it." There are a number of elements in CSS that are much the same way: "Use this sparingly, not at all if possible." Unfortunately, those stylistic comments aren't made here. So, to all you developers out there, I offer the following advice: Orange and purple don't go together - be careful how you use the power the author shows you.
On the whole, I recommend this as your second CSS book purchase, right behind but together with Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide. Still, if you think you know CSS, you don't need the first book to use the second. If you are new to CSS, this book will help you use CSS to your fullest. If you have any experience with CSS, this book can still surprise you with a few neat tricks and tips.
Go ahead - buy it. You will be happy you did.
Reviewed:
- Author: Schmitt, Christopher.
- Title: CSS Cookbook
- Sebastapol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2004
- Suggested Retail Price: $34.95 252 pages
- ISBN: 0-596-00576-8.