Hi all,
I'm interested in gathering advice on keeping large stylesheets
maintainable, particularly ones that have more than one person
working on them. I think that this is an area of CSS that has not
been adequately discussed in the past.
I've written more about this on my blog: http://simon.incutio.com/
archive/2005/09/26/maintainability
If anyone has any ideas to share, particularly from tackling this
problem in team projects, I'd love to hear them.
Thanks!
Simon Willison
Hi Simon:
In trying to tackle css maintainability, I think you've just
scratched the surface on the problem of maintainability any web
coding.
As I have always said, css is not a language that lives in a vacuum.
In fact, it can't do very much by itself -- it has to be used by
other languages to accomplish anything worthwhile.
Furthermore, one can jump-into and out-of several different languages
(i.e., css, html, php, perl,javascript, etc.) within the same
document to make a single presentation. For example, please review my
simple solution of how to use a php variable within a css style sheet:
http://www.sperling.com/examples/pcss/
Because of a diverse focus, all the web languages leave a lot to be
desired when it comes to maintainability. I believe that this stems
from the fact that all web languages trying to accomplish a single
task, which is to deliver a presentation. Unfortunately, no one
language does it all, but instead requires a symbiotic dependence on
others. As such, it is going to be difficult to define a set of
techniques for maintaining styesheets without considering the larger
picture. It's like trying to maintain a specific custom from within a
larger diverse society.
So, if your goal is to set a standard for maintainability, then this
standard should also consider the maintainability problems, and
solutions, of other interdependent web languages.
As for me, my "maintainability solution" has always been -- abundant
documentation.
tedd
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://sperling.com/
______________________________________________________________________
css-discuss [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.css-discuss.org/mailman/listinfo/css-d
List wiki/FAQ -- http://css-discuss.incutio.com/
Supported by evolt.org -- http://www.evolt.org/help_support_evolt/
