From: Matthew M. <ma...@tu...> - 2004-08-09 13:31:48
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Mike and Shaun, What a great discussion =) The developer's list surely hasn't been this active in a while. Shaun sez: > It'd be nice to pin down some class names and put them in as a > requirement in any style.css though. There are some already like the > background colours that are mandatory and more should be specified as > a common resource that module developers can rely on. You know, at first I was against this. I figured it wasn't 'clean' or 'efficient'. However, usability is going to blast these concerns out of the water. If structure complicates usability then it isn't beneficial (I'm looking at you W3C). Having a central location (the style sheet) to completely reform the theme far outweighs the division of execution. I am going to leave in the module style sheets, but I think we should define the rules as to when they should used. After reading the letters you guys have submitted, I suggest the following: 1) The persistent style sheet ('PSS' from here on) only has one rule as far a theme developer is concerned: it contains the elements that are 'persistent' between the alternate style sheets (no duh). 2) The PSS is not a phpWebSite defined sheet. We don't ship with expectations on font size, body padding, etc. 3) I believe the PSS should NOT (as Mike suggested) contain class selectors. This includes phpWebSite specific selectors. 4) The PSS should not contain colors, images, or positioning unless they remain persistent through all alternates. I would like to see a PSS present a clean, basic layout as a fall back position. 5) The default style sheet and its alternatives will contain the phpWebSite specific class selectors and the theme developers personal class selectors. 6) PhpWebSite will define style components. This list should be varied enough that both module and theme developers can choose from enough tags. 7) The components list should not be lengthy. 8) Any theme that does not follow these guidelines will NOT be rejected. 9) The MAIN goals of theming are to be usable, friendly, and orderly. We want to lead by example and get people excited about theming for phpWebSite. See 8. We don't want to chastise people for not following protocol. We want to lead by example. 10) PSS rules can be ignored if a theme contains only that style sheet and no alternates. Please discuss these guidelines. After we agree on which guidelines to follow, we can begin to create our list of class and id selectors. Thanks, Matt Matthew McNaney Internet Systems Architect Electronic Student Services Appalachian State University Phone: 828-262-6493 http://phpwebsite.appstate.edu http://ess.appstate.edu |