CSS Introduction
One of the three fundamental programming languages all web developers must learn, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) was released in 1996 and is an internet networking technology whereby the layout of a web page is, typically, dictated in a separate CSS file document. If placed in a separate file, CSS is created either by a text editor computer application (Notepad, Notepad++, etc) or web development tool (Dreamweaver, WordPress, etc). An CSS file is meant to be read by a browser application (Chrome, FireFox, Safari, etc) and unlike an HTML file which dictates the content of a web page, a CSS dictates the style of the web page. CSS was invented to augment web pages by giving elements styling capabilities such as color, font, size etc. Two web pages possessing exactly the same HTML files however use different CSS will produce two web pages with exactly the same content however displayed differently.
Ensemble
Originally, JavaScript technology was not a stand alone technology and was invented specifically for and to be used in conjunction with HTML and CSS. Although that is not case today, for the sake of simplicity, we will say that JavaScript is not a stand alone and to be used in conjunction with HTML and CSS. Originally, JavaScript was invented to augment HTML by giving web pages dynamic capabilities. Furthermore, JavaScript technology, just like CSS technology, is meant to be used in conjunction with HTML technology, browser application, web server application and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). In a typical setup, the web-server server application is what houses the HTML, CSS and JavaScript files; a browser client application is what reads the HTML, CSS and JavaScript files and renders the web-page; and HTTP is the communication protocol which transfers the HTML, CSS and JavaScript files from the web-server to the browser.
Before CSS and JavaScript
Initially, web pages were created with HTML alone and did not contain neither CSS nor JavaScript. These initial web pages although at their time considered innovative and groundbreaking, today would today be considered mundane. Today, although web pages can still be created out of HTML alone, they would be considered primitive and would not attract many viewers. Today, nearly all webpages contain HTML, CSS and JavaScript technology.
Inserting CSS into a web-page
There are three ways of “inserting” CSS into web-page; inline style sheet, internal style sheet, and external style sheet. Both inline and internal style sheets insert CSS code directly into the HTML file. An external style sheet on the other hand, CSS code is written on a separate file as is referenced by the HTML file. Placing CSS code in a separate file is the preferred method of professional programmers. The file extension of this separate file is “.CSS”. As can be imagined, CSS is meant to be used in conjunction with HTML. An CSS without a HTML is as useless a car without a road, boat without water, radio without radio station, etc. Prior to the advent of CSS, there was no way to actually style a web-page. When HTML was announced by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991 there was no plan for style a website at all. CSS not only solve this problems but it did so by decoupling the content of a web page from the layout.
Training Session
During the web development training session, trainees will learn everything there is to know about CSS. Trainees will learn above all CSS file creation which includes the rules and syntax. CSS selectors, declarations, properties, values will be covered during the training session. Upon completion of the CSS Subject trainees will have created their very own HTML/CSS based web page.