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jcmarchi · 5 months ago

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Revisiting CSS Multi-Column Layout

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/revisiting-css-multi-column-layout/

Revisiting CSS Multi-Column Layout

Honestly, it’s difficult for me to come to terms with, but almost 20 years have passed since I wrote my first book, Transcending CSS. In it, I explained how and why to use what was the then-emerging Multi-Column Layout module.

Hint: I published an updated version, Transcending CSS Revisited, which is free to read online.

Perhaps because, before the web, I’d worked in print, I was over-excited at the prospect of dividing content into columns without needing extra markup purely there for presentation. I’ve used Multi-Column Layout regularly ever since. Yet, CSS Columns remains one of the most underused CSS layout tools. I wonder why that is?

Holes in the specification

For a long time, there were, and still are, plenty of holes in Multi-Column Layout. As Rachel Andrew — now a specification editor — noted in her article five years ago:

“The column boxes created when you use one of the column properties can’t be targeted. You can’t address them with JavaScript, nor can you style an individual box to give it a background colour or adjust the padding and margins. All of the column boxes will be the same size. The only thing you can do is add a rule between columns.”

She’s right. And that’s still true. You can’t style columns, for example, by alternating background colours using some sort of :nth-column() pseudo-class selector. You can add a column-rule between columns using border-style values like dashed, dotted, and solid, and who can forget those evergreen groove and ridge styles? But you can’t apply border-image values to a column-rule, which seems odd as they were introduced at roughly the same time. The Multi-Column Layout is imperfect, and there’s plenty I wish it could do in the future, but that doesn’t explain why most people ignore what it can do today.

Patchy browser implementation for a long time

Legacy browsers simply ignored the column properties they couldn’t process. But, when Multi-Column Layout was first launched, most designers and developers had yet to accept that websites needn’t look the same in every browser.

Early on, support for Multi-Column Layout was patchy. However, browsers caught up over time, and although there are still discrepancies — especially in controlling content breaks — Multi-Column Layout has now been implemented widely. Yet, for some reason, many designers and developers I speak to feel that CSS Columns remain broken. Yes, there’s plenty that browser makers should do to improve their implementations, but that shouldn’t prevent people from using the solid parts today.

Readability and usability with scrolling

Maybe the main reason designers and developers haven’t embraced Multi-Column Layout as they have CSS Grid and Flexbox isn’t in the specification or its implementation but in its usability. Rachel pointed this out in her article:

“One reason we don’t see multicol used much on the web is that it would be very easy to end up with a reading experience which made the reader scroll in the block dimension. That would mean scrolling up and down vertically for those of us using English or another vertical writing mode. This is not a good reading experience!”

That’s true. No one would enjoy repeatedly scrolling up and down to read a long passage of content set in columns. She went on:

“Neither of these things is ideal, and using multicol on the web is something we need to think about very carefully in terms of the amount of content we might be aiming to flow into our columns.”

But, let’s face it, thinking very carefully is what designers and developers should always be doing.

Sure, if you’re dumb enough to dump a large amount of content into columns without thinking about its design, you’ll end up serving readers a poor experience. But why would you do that when headlines, images, and quotes can span columns and reset the column flow, instantly improving readability? Add to that container queries and newer unit values for text sizing, and there really isn’t a reason to avoid using Multi-Column Layout any longer.

A brief refresher on properties and values

Let’s run through a refresher. There are two ways to flow content into multiple columns; first, by defining the number of columns you need using the column-count property:

Second, and often best, is specifying the column width, leaving a browser to decide how many columns will fit along the inline axis. For example, I’m using column-width to specify that my columns are over 18rem. A browser creates as many 18rem columns as possible to fit and then shares any remaining space between them.

Then, there is the gutter (or column-gap) between columns, which you can specify using any length unit. I prefer using rem units to maintain the gutters’ relationship to the text size, but if your gutters need to be 1em, you can leave this out, as that’s a browser’s default gap.

The final column property is that divider (or column-rule) to the gutters, which adds visual separation between columns. Again, you can set a thickness and use border-style values like dashed, dotted, and solid.

These examples will be seen whenever you encounter a Multi-Column Layout tutorial, including CSS-Tricks’ own Almanac. The Multi-Column Layout syntax is one of the simplest in the suite of CSS layout tools, which is another reason why there are few reasons not to use it.

Multi-Column Layout is even more relevant today

When I wrote Transcending CSS and first explained the emerging Multi-Column Layout, there were no rem or viewport units, no :has() or other advanced selectors, no container queries, and no routine use of media queries because responsive design hadn’t been invented.

We didn’t have calc() or clamp() for adjusting text sizes, and there was no CSS Grid or Flexible Box Layout for precise control over a layout. Now we do, and all these properties help to make Multi-Column Layout even more relevant today.

Now, you can use rem or viewport units combined with calc() and clamp() to adapt the text size inside CSS Columns. You can use :has() to specify when columns are created, depending on the type of content they contain. Or you might use container queries to implement several columns only when a container is large enough to display them. Of course, you can also combine a Multi-Column Layout with CSS Grid or Flexible Box Layout for even more imaginative layout designs.

Using Multi-Column Layout today

Patty Meltt is an up-and-coming country music sensation. She’s not real, but the challenges of designing and developing websites like hers are.

My challenge was to implement a flexible article layout without media queries which adapts not only to screen size but also whether or not a <figure> is present. To improve the readability of running text in what would potentially be too-long lines, it should be set in columns to narrow the measure. And, as a final touch, the text size should adapt to the width of the container, not the viewport.

Article with no <figure> element. What would potentially be too-long lines of text are set in columns to improve readability by narrowing the measure.

Article containing a <figure> element. No column text is needed for this narrower measure.

The HTML for this layout is rudimentary. One <section>, one <main>, and one <figure> (or not:)

<section> <main> <h1>About Patty</h1> <p>…</p> </main> <figure> <img> </figure> </section>

I started by adding Multi-Column Layout styles to the <main> element using the column-width property to set the width of each column to 40ch (characters). The max-width and automatic inline margins reduce the content width and center it in the viewport:

main margin-inline: auto; max-width: 100ch; column-width: 40ch; column-gap: 3rem; column-rule: .5px solid #98838F;

Next, I applied a flexible box layout to the <section> only if it :has() a direct descendant which is a <figure>:

section:has(> figure) display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 0 3rem;

This next min-width: min(100%, 30rem) — applied to both the <main> and <figure> — is a combination of the min-width property and the min() CSS function. The min() function allows you to specify two or more values, and a browser will choose the smallest value from them. This is incredibly useful for responsive layouts where you want to control the size of an element based on different conditions:

section:has(> figure) main flex: 1; margin-inline: 0; min-width: min(100%, 30rem); section:has(> figure) figure flex: 4; min-width: min(100%, 30rem);

What’s efficient about this implementation is that Multi-Column Layout styles are applied throughout, with no need for media queries to switch them on or off.

Adjusting text size in relation to column width helps improve readability. This has only recently become easy to implement with the introduction of container queries, their associated values including cqi, cqw, cqmin, and cqmax. And the clamp() function. Fortunately, you don’t have to work out these text sizes manually as ClearLeft’s Utopia will do the job for you.

My headlines and paragraph sizes are clamped to their minimum and maximum rem sizes and between them text is fluid depending on their container’s inline size:

h1 font-size: clamp(5.6526rem, 5.4068rem + 1.2288cqi, 6.3592rem); h2 font-size: clamp(1.9994rem, 1.9125rem + 0.4347cqi, 2.2493rem); p font-size: clamp(1rem, 0.9565rem + 0.2174cqi, 1.125rem);

So, to specify the <main> as the container on which those text sizes are based, I applied a container query for its inline size:

main container-type: inline-size;

Open the final result in a desktop browser, when you’re in front of one. It’s a flexible article layout without media queries which adapts to screen size and the presence of a <figure>. Multi-Column Layout sets text in columns to narrow the measure and the text size adapts to the width of its container, not the viewport.

Modern CSS is solving many prior problems

Structure content with spanning elements which will restart the flow of columns and prevent people from scrolling long distances.

Prevent figures from dividing their images and captions between columns.

Almost every article I’ve ever read about Multi-Column Layout focuses on its flaws, especially usability. CSS-Tricks’ own Geoff Graham even mentioned the scrolling up and down issue when he asked, “When Do You Use CSS Columns?”

“But an entire long-form article split into columns? I love it in newspapers but am hesitant to scroll down a webpage to read one column, only to scroll back up to do it again.”

Fortunately, the column-span property — which enables headlines, images, and quotes to span columns, resets the column flow, and instantly improves readability — now has solid support in browsers:

h1, h2, blockquote column-span: all;

But the solution to the scrolling up and down issue isn’t purely technical. It also requires content design. This means that content creators and designers must think carefully about the frequency and type of spanning elements, dividing a Multi-Column Layout into shallower sections, reducing the need to scroll and improving someone’s reading experience.

Another prior problem was preventing headlines from becoming detached from their content and figures, dividing their images and captions between columns. Thankfully, the break-after property now also has widespread support, so orphaned images and captions are now a thing of the past:

figure break-after: column;

Open this final example in a desktop browser:

You should take a fresh look at Multi-Column Layout

Multi-Column Layout isn’t a shiny new tool. In fact, it remains one of the most underused layout tools in CSS. It’s had, and still has, plenty of problems, but they haven’t reduced its usefulness or its ability to add an extra level of refinement to a product or website’s design. Whether you haven’t used Multi-Column Layout in a while or maybe have never tried it, now’s the time to take a fresh look at Multi-Column Layout.

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divinector · 2 months ago

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Responsive HTML Church Website

#responsive church website #responsive web design #html css #css flexbox examples #css flexbox website #css tutorial #css #webdesign #html #css3 #divinector

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hob28 · 11 months ago

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Learn HTML and CSS: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

Introduction to HTML and CSS

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are the core technologies for creating web pages. HTML provides the structure of the page, while CSS defines its style and layout. This guide aims to equip beginners with the essential knowledge to start building and designing web pages.

Why Learn HTML and CSS?

HTML and CSS are fundamental skills for web development. Whether you're looking to create personal websites, start a career in web development, or enhance your current skill set, understanding these technologies is crucial. They form the basis for more advanced languages and frameworks like JavaScript, React, and Angular.

Getting Started with HTML and CSS

To get started, you need a text editor and a web browser. Popular text editors include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom. Browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are excellent for viewing and testing your web pages.

Basic HTML Structure

HTML documents have a basic structure composed of various elements and tags. Here’s a simple example:

html

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<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>

<title>My First Web Page</title>

</head>

<body>

<h1>Welcome to My Web Page</h1>

<p>This is a paragraph of text on my web page.</p>

</body>

</html>

: Declares the document type and HTML version.

: The root element of an HTML page.

: Contains meta-information about the document.

: Connects the HTML to an external CSS file.

: Contains the content of the web page.

Essential HTML Tags

HTML uses various tags to define different parts of a web page:

to : Headings of different levels.

: Paragraph of text.

: Anchor tag for hyperlinks.

: Embeds images.

: Defines divisions or sections.

: Inline container for text.

Creating Your First HTML Page

Follow these steps to create a simple HTML page:

Open your text editor.

Write the basic HTML structure as shown above.

Add a heading with the tag.

Add a paragraph with the tag.

Save the file with a .html extension (e.g., index.html).

Open the file in your web browser to view your web page.

Introduction to CSS

CSS is used to style and layout HTML elements. It can be included within the HTML file using the <style> tag or in a separate .css file linked with the <link> tag.

Basic CSS Syntax

CSS consists of selectors and declarations. Here’s an example:

css

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h1 {

color: blue;

font-size: 24px;

}

Selector (h1): Specifies the HTML element to be styled.

Declaration Block: Contains one or more declarations, each consisting of a property and a value.

Styling HTML with CSS

To style your HTML elements, you can use different selectors:

Element Selector: Styles all instances of an element.

Class Selector: Styles elements with a specific class.

ID Selector: Styles a single element with a specific ID.

Example:

html

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<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>

<title>Styled Page</title>

</head>

<body>

<h1 class="main-heading">Hello, World!</h1>

<p id="intro">This is an introduction paragraph.</p>

</body>

</html>

In the styles.css file:

css

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.main-heading {

color: green;

text-align: center;

}

#intro {

font-size: 18px;

color: grey;

}

CSS Layout Techniques

CSS provides several layout techniques to design complex web pages:

Box Model: Defines the structure of an element’s content, padding, border, and margin.

Flexbox: A layout model for arranging items within a container, making it easier to design flexible responsive layouts.

Grid Layout: A two-dimensional layout system for more complex layouts.

Example of Flexbox:

css

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.container {

display: flex;

justify-content: space-around;

}

.item {

width: 100px;

height: 100px;

background-color: lightblue;

}

Best Practices for Writing HTML and CSS

Semantic HTML: Use HTML tags that describe their meaning clearly (e.g., , , ).

Clean Code: Indent nested elements and use comments for better readability.

Validation: Use tools like the W3C Markup Validation Service to ensure your HTML and CSS are error-free and standards-compliant.

Accessibility: Make sure your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, by using proper HTML tags and attributes.

Free Resources to Learn HTML and CSS

W3Schools: Comprehensive tutorials and references.

MDN Web Docs: Detailed documentation and guides for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Codecademy: Interactive courses on web development.

FreeCodeCamp: Extensive curriculum covering HTML, CSS, and more.

Khan Academy: Lessons on computer programming and web development.

FAQs about Learning HTML and CSS

Q: What is HTML and CSS? A: HTML (HyperText Markup Language) structures web pages, while CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) styles and layouts the web pages.

Q: Why should I learn HTML and CSS? A: Learning HTML and CSS is essential for creating websites, understanding web development frameworks, and progressing to more advanced programming languages.

Q: Do I need prior experience to learn HTML and CSS? A: No prior experience is required. HTML and CSS are beginner-friendly and easy to learn.

Q: How long does it take to learn HTML and CSS? A: The time varies depending on your learning pace. With consistent practice, you can grasp the basics in a few weeks.

Q: Can I create a website using only HTML and CSS? A: Yes, you can create a basic website. For more complex functionality, you'll need to learn JavaScript.

Q: What tools do I need to start learning HTML and CSS? A: You need a text editor (e.g., Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text) and a web browser (e.g., Google Chrome, Firefox).

Q: Are there free resources available to learn HTML and CSS? A: Yes, there are many free resources available online, including W3Schools, MDN Web Docs, Codecademy, FreeCodeCamp, and Khan Academy.

#how to learn html and css #html & css course #html & css tutorial #html and css #html course #html css tutorial #html learn #html learn website #learn html #learn html and css #html and css course #html and css full course #html and css online course #how to learn html and css for beginners

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codingflicks · 2 years ago

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Responsive Neumorphism Service Section

#service section design #dark neumorphism #css neumorphism #responsive web design #html css #codingflicks #learn to code #code #frontend #html #css #css3 #frontenddevelopment #webdesign #css flexbox layout #css flexbox grid

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java-full-stack-izeon · 1 year ago

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java full stack

A Java Full Stack Developer is proficient in both front-end and back-end development, using Java for server-side (backend) programming. Here's a comprehensive guide to becoming a Java Full Stack Developer:

1. Core Java

Fundamentals: Object-Oriented Programming, Data Types, Variables, Arrays, Operators, Control Statements.

Advanced Topics: Exception Handling, Collections Framework, Streams, Lambda Expressions, Multithreading.

2. Front-End Development

HTML: Structure of web pages, Semantic HTML.

CSS: Styling, Flexbox, Grid, Responsive Design.

JavaScript: ES6+, DOM Manipulation, Fetch API, Event Handling.

Frameworks/Libraries:

React: Components, State, Props, Hooks, Context API, Router.

Angular: Modules, Components, Services, Directives, Dependency Injection.

Vue.js: Directives, Components, Vue Router, Vuex for state management.

3. Back-End Development

Java Frameworks:

Spring: Core, Boot, MVC, Data JPA, Security, Rest.

Hibernate: ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) framework.

Building REST APIs: Using Spring Boot to build scalable and maintainable REST APIs.

4. Database Management

SQL Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL (CRUD operations, Joins, Indexing).

NoSQL Databases: MongoDB (CRUD operations, Aggregation).

5. Version Control/Git

Basic Git commands: clone, pull, push, commit, branch, merge.

Platforms: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket.

6. Build Tools

Maven: Dependency management, Project building.

Gradle: Advanced build tool with Groovy-based DSL.

7. Testing

Unit Testing: JUnit, Mockito.

Integration Testing: Using Spring Test.

8. DevOps (Optional but beneficial)

Containerization: Docker (Creating, managing containers).

CI/CD: Jenkins, GitHub Actions.

Cloud Services: AWS, Azure (Basics of deployment).

9. Soft Skills

Problem-Solving: Algorithms and Data Structures.

Communication: Working in teams, Agile/Scrum methodologies.

Project Management: Basic understanding of managing projects and tasks.

Learning Path

Start with Core Java: Master the basics before moving to advanced concepts.

Learn Front-End Basics: HTML, CSS, JavaScript.

Move to Frameworks: Choose one front-end framework (React/Angular/Vue.js).

Back-End Development: Dive into Spring and Hibernate.

Database Knowledge: Learn both SQL and NoSQL databases.

Version Control: Get comfortable with Git.

Testing and DevOps: Understand the basics of testing and deployment.

Resources

Books:

Effective Java by Joshua Bloch.

Java: The Complete Reference by Herbert Schildt.

Head First Java by Kathy Sierra & Bert Bates.

Online Courses:

Coursera, Udemy, Pluralsight (Java, Spring, React/Angular/Vue.js).

FreeCodeCamp, Codecademy (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).

Documentation:

Official documentation for Java, Spring, React, Angular, and Vue.js.

Community and Practice

GitHub: Explore open-source projects.

Stack Overflow: Participate in discussions and problem-solving.

Coding Challenges: LeetCode, HackerRank, CodeWars for practice.

By mastering these areas, you'll be well-equipped to handle the diverse responsibilities of a Java Full Stack Developer.

visit https://www.izeoninnovative.com/izeon/

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skinsort · 2 years ago

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Responsive vs. Adaptive vs. Neither of those things

Aight so. Big topic. We hear the word 'responsive' a lot when talking about web design but it's kind of a wishy washy topic for lots of people outside tech, especially if you've mostly coded while interacting with jcink. John did it really weird, with two skins- one for mobile, and one for desktop. This is actually pretty convenient because it helps distinguish two ideas. If you go to a website like youtube or even tumblr and resize your window as large as you can and as small as you can. These sites are properly responsive- the layout changes and adapts to the size of the screen. Youtube is (unsurprisingly) better at this than tumblr. It changes to use all of the available screen width at every size, pretty much no matter what. Tumblr (the dash anyway) only expands to a certain size- but it also doesn't break when you make it really small. Now go look at the base jcink skin- jcink support forums for instance. If you look at it on a phone, it'll mostly look okay, and after a certain size, will mostly look okay on desktop too. But there's this whole area between the two where things start to get janky. The fixed sizes of everything start to spill over the window size. That's an adaptive skin. Everything is a fixed size, and which layout you see depends on the type of device you're using. Adaptive sites are generally seen as outdated at this point. Almost no one is coding this way anymore. Now go to a jcink skin. Do the same thing with making your window bigger and smaller. In every skin I've ever seen, *something* will break. Text will overflow, you'll have to scroll from side to side to read a post, images will start to overlap other content. That kind of thing. Some sites will resize to a certain point, but almost none of them will do so all the way down to a mobile size, or even half of a laptop screen. This is neither adaptive nor responsive. THIS IS OKAY. I mean it's not ideal, but almost no one coding for jcink is a professional, and these are legitimately difficult things to get right. You have to be thinking about it from the start of the design process. What's going to happen to that icon when the screen gets small? What about the topic information? How are you going to keep information which looks beautiful at a desktop size looking good at tablet and phone sizes? It's legitimately difficult, and if you're not building with that in mind from the start it's a non-trivial task to make an unresponsive skin responsive. If you want to start thinking about these things, I'd recommend reading about media query breakpoints. For jcink, I think it's fair to code for desktop first (usually it's mobile first today) because people using a jcink site will usually want to be typing in it somewhere. Anecdotally, I think even people who post on mobile usually are writing in a notes app first. My skin worked really well at a 600px breakpoint, but other skins might need different figures. That's okay! As long as you can identify (maybe two) places where your views start to breakdown and have consistent behavior in your css for those breakpoints, you should be fine. I think it's good practice to know what you want your mobile version to look like, and code at least the skeleton of both views as you go, so you don't back yourself into corners. That's already a lot of text, so I'll stop there. I'll follow this up with a few different ways you can approach responsive design beyond breakpoints- grid, flexbox, and percentage based css. I can't really effectively teach these things on tumblr, but I can talk about the pros and cons of each approach so you can start looking into the things that seem like they might fit your use case.

#jcink coding #coding meta

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