Customer Reviews

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) By Example

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I already knew the basics of CSS when I purchased this but wanted a reference manual. I haven't had a question that I could not find an answer for in this book.

If you're just learning, then this is also a great book. It really is "by example" and it's great that you can get the code files off his web site and then just work with the different CSS examples to see how you can control formatting.

I recommend this book without hesitation for people new or familiar with CSS.

This book started of great. I learned quite a bit about CSS from Eric Meyer's books so when I saw he wrote the foreword, it showed promise. That dwindled after the many typo's that were riddled throughout the book. I have a totally marked up copy of this book due to careless editing.

Editing this type of book is CRUCIAL since CSS is such a detail oriented process. When you forget to add a number or a semicolon, it simply will not work. This was the case time and time again.

Also, the accompanying Web site's downloads varied from what was presented in the book so even if you did as instructed to do, it will not match what was available on the Web site. The Web site files were consistently correct and should have mirrored what was written in the book, but this was NOT the case.

Overall, the book presents great information on CSS in a clear fashion, BUT it looses all credibility since the editorial staff failed to do their job.

I have read two other books written by Mr. Callihan and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is another great book. When I first opened the book I really didn't know what to expect. I didn't even know what a CSS was. I had just heard the term and was curious. At first glance, I was a little intimidated. There was a lot of coding in there! But as I worked through the lessons I began to understand not only what Style Sheets were but how they could make my web site development easier and cleaner.

Mr. Callihan's instruction is clear and thorough. The examples, which he provides for download on his website, make working through the lessons a breeze. When I started the book I wasn't sure I was going to be able to learn the material, there was just so much. But by the end I could read other web developers code and understand what they were trying to do. Wonderful!

Mr. Callihan taught me HTML in a Weekend, now he's taught me CSS. I highly recommend this book for any web developer who would like to understand how to use Cascading Style Sheets in their web site.

Steve Callihan's first book, "Create Your First Web Page in a Weekend" helped me create my own website when I literally didn't know the first thing about how to go about it. He has a teaching style that starts out simply, without assuming prior knowledge. He lays a foundation and then builds on that. It was a great way to learn HTML, and now the same teaching style is helping me learn Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). HTML lets you establish the content of your web pages, but gives you very little control over their presentation. It was never intended to do things like set margins and font sizes, and the TABLE tag wasn't intended as a page layout tool but that's what everyone does with it. However, in this book, Mr. Callihan shows how you can use CSS for page layout and accomplish the same thing, only with much greater control. In fact, CSS gives you the power to control everything about your web pages to achieve any look you want, and it's easy! Steve's book goes way beyond just giving you the properties and values you can use with CSS, but he shows you (by example) HOW and WHY to use them. A lot of work obviously went into this book. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn CSS the easy way. Five stars!

I have been easing into CSS for a few months now. I mainly get my information from websites and tutorials. This book helped me SO MUCH. In the fist two chapters my eyes were opened to things I had already done but didn't understand why they worked or didn't work. It is great for anyone new to CSS and feeling a little confused.

I very much like the concept of teaching with examples and this book does that well. I think this is an excellent book for those who are new to css and html. It is too shallow for people at an intermediate level of either of those skills.

If the author's intent was a beginners-only level book, then I should rate this as a 5-star product. If it was intended to bring the reader to an intermediate level, then my rating is correct.

Good work, but it left me hungry before I got halfway through.

Do you want a book which teaches you CSS by examples and also have an author who is willing to help you with questions? Then, BE SURE to purchase this book. I purchased it only a few days after its publication and am very pleased with it. There are example files which you download from the book's website (This eliminates alot of unnecessary typing). A concept is explained and then you are given an example to type in the style sheet and then check in your browser to see what the affect is. This makes it very easy to understand and see the results. In addition, there are 3 appendix which give further valuable information. One in particular lists all the CSS1 properties and descriptions. If you are really interested in learning CSS, purchase THIS book.

If you need a book that starts from the square one - this is it! Easy to understand and it takes you through the process step by step.

I was inspired to pick up some quick lessons on CSS after years of HTML, Javascript, and ASP programming. I did not want to pick up a bible on CSS for lack of time, so I chose Mr. Steve Callihan's book simply because of its title. I am glad I did. I am not just learning from it. I was able to fly with CSS at work just after 2 weeks of learning and trying this book's examples. The author was quick to respond to my email too. His web site [website] contains is extremely resourcesful as well. This book is worth every penny of it and more.

After 3 weeks of learning HTML (with Sam's Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML and XHTML in 21 Days by Laura Lemay) I bought Cascading Style Sheets for Dummies. It was DREADFUL. Undetered, I went out and bought this book.

Within days I was comfortable and happy with CSS. The real-world examples in the book and the clear way in which it has been laid out make it very easy to follow. Prior knowledge of HTML is going to be a big help, but HTML listings are provided for everything.

Steve Callihan has created the ultimate beginners guide to CSS here.