Stylesheets - What is this called (newbie ?)?

Author

What is this called (newbie ?)?

tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com

2007-04-09, 6:19 pm

I am new to css, but am working on a family site. I have a title for
the individual pages and I've read where using columns is preferable
to using tables, so I have a two-column page under the title.

On the left is my navigation bar. On the right, I have "personal"
pages for each member, and a few subheadings.

I want to use just the single style sheet from the root of the site
and simply imbed paragraphs or images for each of the individuals so
that I can customize the master sheet and simply update small text
documents rather than having to overlay the template and re-write the
individual text.

How do I call the "individual text" paragraphs or what is the
technical term that I should read about on how to insert personalized
text into each page?

I don't mind searching and reading about it, but I'm not having very
good success with the searches I've tried so far, so I'm thinking that
I am not using the correct terminology.

Thank you,
Dave

tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com

2007-04-09, 6:19 pm

On Apr 9, 12:21 pm, "tom_sawye...@yahoo.com" <tom_sawye...@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> I am new to css, but am working on a family site. I have a title for
> the individual pages and I've read where using columns is preferable
> to using tables, so I have a two-column page under the title.
>
> On the left is my navigation bar. On the right, I have "personal"
> pages for each member, and a few subheadings.
>
> I want to use just the single style sheet from the root of the site
> and simply imbed paragraphs or images for each of the individuals so
> that I can customize the master sheet and simply update small text
> documents rather than having to overlay the template and re-write the
> individual text.
>
> How do I call the "individual text" paragraphs or what is the
> technical term that I should read about on how to insert personalized
> text into each page?
>
> I don't mind searching and reading about it, but I'm not having very
> good success with the searches I've tried so far, so I'm thinking that
> I am not using the correct terminology.
>
> Thank you,
> Dave

Just to elaborate, I understand that the text is from the html and the
style is from css. I am looking for how to imbed the style for the
text (or would this actually be in the html files themselves rather
than a style definition).

dorayme

2007-04-09, 10:16 pm

In article
<1176135700.758367.139680@b75g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
"tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com" <tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am new to css, but am working on a family site. I have a title for
> the individual pages and I've read where using columns is preferable
> to using tables, so I have a two-column page under the title.
>
> On the left is my navigation bar. On the right, I have "personal"
> pages for each member, and a few subheadings.
>
> I want to use just the single style sheet from the root of the site
> and simply imbed paragraphs or images for each of the individuals so
> that I can customize the master sheet and simply update small text
> documents rather than having to overlay the template and re-write the
> individual text.
>
> How do I call the "individual text" paragraphs or what is the
> technical term that I should read about on how to insert personalized
> text into each page?
>
> I don't mind searching and reading about it, but I'm not having very
> good success with the searches I've tried so far, so I'm thinking that
> I am not using the correct terminology.
>
> Thank you,
> Dave

Try the phrase "server side include"

--
dorayme

Chris Beall

2007-04-10, 3:16 am

tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com wrote:
> I am new to css, but am working on a family site. I have a title for
> the individual pages and I've read where using columns is preferable
> to using tables, so I have a two-column page under the title.
>
> On the left is my navigation bar. On the right, I have "personal"
> pages for each member, and a few subheadings.
>
> I want to use just the single style sheet from the root of the site
> and simply imbed paragraphs or images for each of the individuals so
> that I can customize the master sheet and simply update small text
> documents rather than having to overlay the template and re-write the
> individual text.
>
> How do I call the "individual text" paragraphs or what is the
> technical term that I should read about on how to insert personalized
> text into each page?
>
> I don't mind searching and reading about it, but I'm not having very
> good success with the searches I've tried so far, so I'm thinking that
> I am not using the correct terminology.
>
> Thank you,
> Dave
>

Dave,

Because you are not using the correct terminology, you are going to have
trouble understanding a lot of the useful reference info that is out
there. Let me take a pass at helping you. I've put initial capitals on
the correct terms. Purists will note that I've made some simplifications.

Start with Text. Letters, words, sentences, paragraphs. This is the
core of any good web page.

Now enclose the text in HTML Elements. Elements describe the semantics,
or meaning, of a piece of text. Examples are headings, paragraphs,
lists (several types), tables. In the source code, elements are
identified by Tags. There are start tags, which go at the front of an
element, and end tags (sometimes optional), which identify where the
element ends. Elements can have Attributes. For example, the Anchor
element may have a href attribute, pointing to something on the web (by
convention, an Anchor Element with a href attribute is called a Link,
but Link is not the name of an element in HTML...). Because text is not
always deemed sufficient, there is also an element for images, called
Img, and a more generalized one for objects, called...Object. Generally
speaking, elements tell you what the text or image they enclose IS.
They do not tell the browser HOW it should appear (although browsers
will, in the absence of conflicting suggestions, make some assumptions
about this, such as making a Header-level-1 into large, bold text.)

HTML is not a programming language. It does not have if-then-else
structures or loops. It does not have processing directives, such as
"copy the data from file menu.html into THIS file HERE." But that's one
of the things you want, so:

SSI (Server Side Includes) is a set of functions provided by many
servers (but not all, so you have to check with your hosting service).
When active, it looks through the HTML for special Directives and acts
upon them. These give you some of the features of a programming
language. The net effect is that, before sending your HTML page to a
user, the SSI process will modify the content of the page. This happens
every time the page is fetched, so the content of the resulting page
could change (such as displaying a time stamp). SSI usually removes its
directives as it processes them, but if they get through to the browser
they just look like HTML comments and are ignored. What you want is the
#include directive (they all start with #), briefly described at
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/ho...standardfooter.

Similar functions can also be obtained with a Preprocessor. This also
works on directives embedded in the HTML, but you run it once (each time
you change your HTML source) and it generates an output page that
incorporates the results of its directives. That's the page you put on
your site. This avoids the need for cooperation from your hosting
service and the overhead of a page being processed each time it is
requested, but requires that you re-process the page each time you make
a change and cannot incorporate dynamic changes (such as the time stamp
mentioned above).

In either case, if you embed fragments of HTML from another file, that
file will also contain HTML (and, optionally, more directives).

You've heard some stuff about "using columns is preferable to using
tables". A more correct statement of the situation would be that some
people believe it is preferable not to use tables for layout, i.e. to
dictate the physical placement of things. See
http://pages.prodigy.net/chris_beal...r%20layout.html for
an even-handed presentation of the situation. :-) In fact, you might
find other pages in that group to be useful.

Now, here's a key point. NONE of the foregoing has anything to do with CSS.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are used to suggest to the browser how the
HTML elements should be presented to the user. With rare exceptions,
they do not contain actual content. They DO allow you to suggest
colors, borders, fonts, text size, positioning of elements, and the
like. Note the word 'suggest'. The user can override all of your CSS
with his or her own. This ability is particularly useful for those with
poor vision.

Now let's jump back to apply some of these concepts to your situation.
You describe the possibility of using tables (an HTML semantic Element)
to force a presentational characteristic (two columns). But the data is
not tabular, so that would not be a good choice. Using CSS and applying
it to two HTML Division elements would probably be the usual approach.
(HTML has two elements, div and span, which have NO semantic meaning,
but which provide convenient hooks upon which to hang CSS styling. The
former encapsulates a block of HTML, while the latter encapsulates a
string of text.)

Your case, however, is even more specific. One column contains
navigation, the other is an area in which the result of that navigation
is to appear. This description matches an HTML concept called Frames.
It divides the window into rectangles and allows you to control the
content of each rectangle independently of the others. In your case,
one frame would contain the navigation, which, when activated, would
place the appropriate content into the other frame. But frames have
problems. First, you may have realized that the frame is a presentation
concept, not a semantic one, so what is it doing in HTML? Second, there
are technical issues. See
http://pages.prodigy.net/chris_beall/TC/Frames.html for another of those
exceedingly level-headed expositions.

So, what to do? Reverse your thinking. Create a file that contains
just the navigation. Set it aside. Now create a full-blown web page
for each family member. At the point in that file where you would want
the navigation to appear (probably near the top) place an #include
directive or preprocessor equivalent, whichever you've chosen, that
points to your navigation file. This will pull in that file, inserting
it into each person's page. Net: one page for each person, plus one
common navigation page.

Advanced topic. Reverse your thinking again, back to your original
'template' concept. Some preprocessors can implement this. In essence,
they process each file in a list against a specified template. The
template is actually the 'top' file and is invoked once for each of the
detail files. Some very complex stuff is possible, with an equivalent
learning curve. One such is PPWizard. See
http://dennisbareis.com/ppwizard.htm and don't be put off by the garish
colors.

Chris Beall

tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com

2007-04-10, 3:16 am

On Apr 9, 8:02 pm, dorayme <doraymeRidT...@optusnet.com.au> wrote:
> In article
> <1176135700.758367.139...@b75g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
>
>
>
> "tom_sawye...@yahoo.com" <tom_sawye...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Try the phrase "server side include"
>
> --
> dorayme

Thank you, will do.

tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com

2007-04-10, 3:16 am

On Apr 9, 10:40 pm, Chris Beall <Chris_Be...@prodigy.net> wrote:
> tom_sawye...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dave,
>
> Because you are not using the correct terminology, you are going to have
> trouble understanding a lot of the useful reference info that is out
> there. Let me take a pass at helping you. I've put initial capitals on
> the correct terms. Purists will note that I've made some simplifications.
>
> Start with Text. Letters, words, sentences, paragraphs. This is the
> core of any good web page.
>
> Now enclose the text in HTML Elements. Elements describe the semantics,
> or meaning, of a piece of text. Examples are headings, paragraphs,
> lists (several types), tables. In the source code, elements are
> identified by Tags. There are start tags, which go at the front of an
> element, and end tags (sometimes optional), which identify where the
> element ends. Elements can have Attributes. For example, the Anchor
> element may have a href attribute, pointing to something on the web (by
> convention, an Anchor Element with a href attribute is called a Link,
> but Link is not the name of an element in HTML...). Because text is not
> always deemed sufficient, there is also an element for images, called
> Img, and a more generalized one for objects, called...Object. Generally
> speaking, elements tell you what the text or image they enclose IS.
> They do not tell the browser HOW it should appear (although browsers
> will, in the absence of conflicting suggestions, make some assumptions
> about this, such as making a Header-level-1 into large, bold text.)
>
> HTML is not a programming language. It does not have if-then-else
> structures or loops. It does not have processing directives, such as
> "copy the data from file menu.html into THIS file HERE." But that's one
> of the things you want, so:
>
> SSI (Server Side Includes) is a set of functions provided by many
> servers (but not all, so you have to check with your hosting service).
> When active, it looks through the HTML for special Directives and acts
> upon them. These give you some of the features of a programming
> language. The net effect is that, before sending your HTML page to a
> user, the SSI process will modify the content of the page. This happens
> every time the page is fetched, so the content of the resulting page
> could change (such as displaying a time stamp). SSI usually removes its
> directives as it processes them, but if they get through to the browser
> they just look like HTML comments and are ignored. What you want is the
> #include directive (they all start with #), briefly described athttp://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/howto/ssi.html#includingastandardfooter.
>
> Similar functions can also be obtained with a Preprocessor. This also
> works on directives embedded in the HTML, but you run it once (each time
> you change your HTML source) and it generates an output page that
> incorporates the results of its directives. That's the page you put on
> your site. This avoids the need for cooperation from your hosting
> service and the overhead of a page being processed each time it is
> requested, but requires that you re-process the page each time you make
> a change and cannot incorporate dynamic changes (such as the time stamp
> mentioned above).
>
> In either case, if you embed fragments of HTML from another file, that
> file will also contain HTML (and, optionally, more directives).
>
> You've heard some stuff about "using columns is preferable to using
> tables". A more correct statement of the situation would be that some
> people believe it is preferable not to use tables for layout, i.e. to
> dictate the physical placement of things. Seehttp://pages.prodigy.net/chris_beall/TC/Tables%20for%20layout.htmlfor
> an even-handed presentation of the situation. :-) In fact, you might
> find other pages in that group to be useful.
>
> Now, here's a key point. NONE of the foregoing has anything to do with CSS.
>
> CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are used to suggest to the browser how the
> HTML elements should be presented to the user. With rare exceptions,
> they do not contain actual content. They DO allow you to suggest
> colors, borders, fonts, text size, positioning of elements, and the
> like. Note the word 'suggest'. The user can override all of your CSS
> with his or her own. This ability is particularly useful for those with
> poor vision.
>
> Now let's jump back to apply some of these concepts to your situation.
> You describe the possibility of using tables (an HTML semantic Element)
> to force a presentational characteristic (two columns). But the data is
> not tabular, so that would not be a good choice. Using CSS and applying
> it to two HTML Division elements would probably be the usual approach.
> (HTML has two elements, div and span, which have NO semantic meaning,
> but which provide convenient hooks upon which to hang CSS styling. The
> former encapsulates a block of HTML, while the latter encapsulates a
> string of text.)
>
> Your case, however, is even more specific. One column contains
> navigation, the other is an area in which the result of that navigation
> is to appear. This description matches an HTML concept called Frames.
> It divides the window into rectangles and allows you to control the
> content of each rectangle independently of the others. In your case,
> one frame would contain the navigation, which, when activated, would
> place the appropriate content into the other frame. But frames have
> problems. First, you may have realized that the frame is a presentation
> concept, not a semantic one, so what is it doing in HTML? Second, there
> are technical issues. Seehttp://pages.prodigy.net/chris_beall/TC/Frames.htmlfor another of those
> exceedingly level-headed expositions.
>
> So, what to do? Reverse your thinking. Create a file that contains
> just the navigation. Set it aside. Now create a full-blown web page
> for each family member. At the point in that file where you would want
> the navigation to appear (probably near the top) place an #include
> directive or preprocessor equivalent, whichever you've chosen, that
> points to your navigation file. This will pull in that file, inserting
> it into each person's page. Net: one page for each person, plus one
> common navigation page.
>
> Advanced topic. Reverse your thinking again, back to your original
> 'template' concept. Some preprocessors can implement this. In essence,
> they process each file in a list against a specified template. The
> template is actually the 'top' file and is invoked once for each of the
> detail files. Some very complex stuff is possible, with an equivalent
> learning curve. One such is PPWizard. Seehttp://dennisbareis.com/ppwizard.htmand don't be put off by the garish
> colors.
>
> Chris Beall

Thank you Chris, a lot of good information here.

Sherm Pendley

2007-04-10, 3:16 am

"tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com" <tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com> writes:

> Thank you Chris, a lot of good information here.

Yes, there was - but did you *have* to quote every single line of it
just to say "thank you?" Is your delete key broken?

sherm--

--
Web Hosting by West Virginians, for West Virginians: http://wv-www.net
Cocoa programming in Perl: http://camelbones.sourceforge.net

tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com

2007-04-10, 6:17 pm

My apologies, Sherm. It was late last night when I replied and you
are correct, I should have deleted the text to reply (I was using the
Google Groups interface, which collapses the text and didn't think to
delete it at the time).

BTW, I noticed in your sig that you're in Morgantown. I lived in
Westover for about 20 years and graduated from WVU in '91. This next
football/basketball season should be a lot of fun. Go Mountaineers!

Sherm Pendley

2007-04-10, 6:17 pm

"tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com" <tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com> writes:

> BTW, I noticed in your sig that you're in Morgantown. I lived in
> Westover for about 20 years and graduated from WVU in '91.

Small world, ain't it? :-)

I didn't go to WVU, but I did graduate from MHS in '86. We might have
had some of the same classes there.

This isn't really the place for a reunion though - email me, or check
my MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/camelbones) for that.

sherm--

--
Web Hosting by West Virginians, for West Virginians: http://wv-www.net
Cocoa programming in Perl: http://camelbones.sourceforge.net