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Chapter 7: Stylesheet Structure
A style sheet contains one or more styles, usually called rules. Each rule has the following structure:
selector {formatting}
- selector specifies which parts of the HTML document the rule is to be applied to.
- formatting defines the formatting for the rule.
A style sheet can be located either within the HTML document, in the head section, or as a separate file that is linked to the HTML document. In fact a given HTML document can have both internal and external style sheets, one of the CSS features that makes it so flexible.
What Does "Cascading" Mean?
The term "cascading" in Cascading Style Sheets reflects two aspects of style sheets work. The first is the way style sheets interact. An HTML document can have more than one style sheet associated with it, for
example one internal and one external. Style rules cascade so that the end
result is a combination of the document's various style sheets.
The aspect of cascading is the operation of inheritance. If a certain aspect of formatting is not specified for a child element, it will (in most cases) inherit the formatting of its parent (enclosing) element. For example, a <p> element that has no font style rule will display in the font specified for its parent, the <body> element. The formatting "cascades" down the chain from parent to child.
The aspect of cascading is the operation of inheritance. If a certain aspect of formatting is not specified for a child element, it will (in most cases) inherit the formatting of its parent (enclosing) element. For example, a <p> element that has no font style rule will display in the font specified for its parent, the <body> element. The formatting "cascades" down the chain from parent to child.
To create an internal style sheet, place the following in the head section of the HTML document:
<style>
<!--
....style rules go here....
//-->
</style>
To use an external style sheet, use a text editor to create a text file containing the style rules and save it with the .css extension. Then place a reference to the file in the head section of the HTML document as follows:
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
href="MyStyleSheet.css" />
This assumes that the style sheet file is in the same folder on the Web server as the Web page. If not, you must specify the full path in the href attribute.
A style sheet can also contain comments. They are ignored in processing and can be useful for documenting your styles. A comment starts with the characters /* and ends with */. For example:
/* This is a CSS comment. */
/* Comments can be spread over
two or more lines
line this one. */
The Short Story
CoffeeCup Software started in a real Coffee House 1996. Our first program was the HTML Editor. Over the last 10 years we have created a lot more Web Design & Flash Software. Our philosophy has always been to create software and services so you can make better Websites. We are dedicated to helping you by offering extraordinary support so we can succeed together. Consider us a partner and a friend, because we really are about Fresh Software and Warm People.
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