LQ Web
CSS3 - Webkit - Multi Column Layout
The CSS3 MultiColumn feature lets you specify the number of columns, or the size of the columns, and the browser will calculate how to layout the text to fit the columns.
For newspaper or magazine layouts, multicolumns are like having a desktop publishing application for the web.
The browser will distribute the content to fit over a specific number of columns or a specific column size. It will break the text at the best place to continue the text in the next column.
In addition to text, images can be embedded in the content and they will be arranged in the columns.
03/27/2014 3:31 pm Link ID: 03272014-61
CSS3 - Webkit - Flexible Box Layout
We have a container element and we want to control the position of the items in the container. The Flex Box set of properties describe how to arrange the items in the containter and what to do with any extra space.
But the specification for the Flexible Box Model is undergoing a big change in terminology right now, so it makes sense to wait until the specification is settled. But regardless of the terminology changes, the basic functions will be the same.
LQWebdesign will keep you updated on the changes.
03/26/2014 3:31 pm Link ID: 03262014-60
Getting to know HTML 5
Even if you are a wizard at html, there are great new features in HTML 5. HTML 5 has been designed to allow for many features that used to require plug-ins.
HTML 5 can be described in several categories:
Semantic Web - Defining the layout of a page. Headers, sidebars, etc. can be defined as distinct areas in html 5. Of course you need CSS to define the appearance of these elements, but search engines can determine content from semantic tags.
Canvas: This enables visual elements and 2D animation. This replaces plug-ins and proprietary software solutions. Canvas has the potential to be a major skill set for web designers.
Video and audio embedding. HTML 5 will handle that without plug-ins and proprietary software.
HTML 5 has great potential in future web development. On the down side, it is not universally supported in all browsers. Some browsers have more features supported than others, but the support is spotty. Of course this is changing as browsers are updated.
03/14/2014 2:27 pm Link ID: 03142014-16
HTML5 is the buzzword today.
I have been a proponent of web-based mobile apps that use HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript to design mobile apps. It seems that the tech media is talking about this technology a lot lately and it is being talked about under the standard name of HTML5.
The Wall Street Journal has an article today that declares HTML5 - The Technology Changing the Web. With Adobe dropping Flash, HTML5 is suddenly a legitimate web development tool and the press is talking about it.
HTML5 is really an umbrella term that includes CSS3, javascript, jQuery and WebKit. Having a short, simple name that includes this whole group of technologies makes it easier to write about. So I will refer to the collection of these technologies as HTML5. But I will still write about the individual components separately.
03/11/2014 9:30 am Link ID: 03112014-54
The Future of HTML5
Today the tech world took a step closer to making HTML5 and CSS3 mobile apps the standard.
Adobe has decided to stop developing Flash for mobile devices. With their recent purchase of PhoneGap, they seem to really see the future as Web-based mobile apps.
Native apps are still strong today and won't go away anytime soon. But the alternatives are getting better all the time.
Jay Sullivan, of Mozilla, made a good case for this transition in an article in VentureBeat today. Sullivan states "For developers, it's technologically more manageable to build one mobile web app than a half-dozen or even just two native apps. And given the state of mobile web standards, we're quickly approaching a point where end users can't tell the difference between the two. All that's really left is a business model for mobile web apps...".
Android is very fragmented. Different versions run on different devices. The Amazon Fire is based on a modified Android platform. iOS is consistent, as Apple always is, but we will have to wait and see if they soften some of their draconion controls over their approved apps.
For apps that provide information, such as news and reference apps, there isn't a need for most of the native features that native apps provide. There is a need for education and business apps and this is a future developement area that can be achieved with HTML5.
03/09/2014 5:18 pm Link ID: 03092014-53