CSS 3

The web adheres to a strict separation of structure, style, and behavior. For those of you who are familiar with design patterns, this is MVC (Model, View, Controller) writ large. On the client side, that is: Model: HTML, View: CSS, Controller: Javascript

We're going to drive to the bleeding edge of CSS and take a tour. The techniques we will take a look at in this module are experimental, and browser support is improving -- but still spotty.

Even though support for some of these techniques is still in its infancy, the techniques are valuable to know for several reasons; primarily, they are the future. The effects are desirable -- they are useful, and people like them. Previously, to achieve such effects, designers had to do all kinds of Javascript gymnastics with huge effects libraries. User experience paid a price in large download times, sluggish performance, and the need for a large number of third-party plug-ins.