stylish sheets cascading in a garden

Ever looked under the hood of your favorite web page? (From your browser's menu bar, choose something like "View->Source" or "View->Page Source", and then stand back.)

Chances are, what you see there will not be pretty. Sure, the page may look spiffy, but remember that it takes a lot of dirt and ugly-looking rocks to build an edifice.

What's more, it takes a bunch of in some cases significantly different versions of said page to be able to offer similar, accessible content to all users of the web (a half-dozen popular graphical browsers, text-readers, PDAs, cell phones, and more). An IT manager's nightmare, to be sure.

A few years ago (1998), the Web Standards Project was begun, with the goal of "promoting core web standards and encouraging browser makers to do the same, thereby insuring simple, affordable access for all."

Suddenly, web designers and developers were introduced to a whole new way of thinking and working, one that would eventually (hasn't completely happened quite yet) free them from the chains of having to create 14 different copies of one web site just to be compatible with the world.

That new way is centered on CSS. Using CSS, a web page contains primarily content (text, graphics and links to other web pages), and very little if any instructions about how the page should look.

"So what's the point of all this?" I hear you cry. My point is to share with you a web site that, once you understand its purpose, will blow you away.

The site to which I refer is called The CSS Zen Garden.

At this site, you'll see one, and only one, web page displayed in dozens and dozens of unique and captivating ways. Rest assured: the content of the site is the same for all versions. The only thing that is different between the pages is the Style Sheet, which tells the page how it should look.

So, go get a cup of your favorite java juice, plop down in front of your monitor, and prepare to be amazed.

After you've recovered from your amazing journey, I think you'll appreciate why CSS will someday free web designers and developers to do what they do best -- create.

Enjoy!