Many people are accustomed to style sheets in word-processing. W3C's style sheets offer extensive control over the presentation of Web pages. The Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) language is widely implemented. It is playing an important role in styling not just HTML, but also many kinds of XML documents: XHTML, SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) and SMIL (the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language), to name a few. It is also an important means of adapting pages to different devices, such as mobile phones or printers.
W3C is also developing the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL, see the XML Activity Statement). XSL applies a “style sheet” to transform one XML-based document into another. XSL and CSS can be combined.
W3C has a page on CSS resources, including browsers, authoring tools and tutorials.
The working group published four Recommendations (Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 Revision 1, Selectors Level 3, CSS Color Module Level 3, CSS Namespaces Module), two Notes (Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Snapshot 2007, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Snapshot 2010), one Candidate Recommendation (Media Queries) and one or more drafts of several other CSS modules (CSS Fonts Module Level 3, CSS Device Adaptation, CSS Image Values and Replaced Content Module Level 3, CSS Values and Units Module Level 3, CSS Writing Modes Module Level 3, CSS Text Level 3, CSS Conditional Rules Module Level 3, CSS Speech Module, CSSOM View Module, CSSOM, CSS3 Ruby Module, CSS Regions Module, CSS Lists and Counters Module Level 3, Selectors Level 4).
The WG is working on test suites for three of the specifications that are in CR (CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3, CSS Multi-column Layout Module and Media Queries) and on new drafts of several other modules, with a particular focus on the needs of EPUB, a standard for electronic books created by the IDPF, with which W3C has a liason.
Apart from the already mentioned Multi-column module, that focus particularly affects CSS Writing Modes Module Level 3, CSS Text Level 3 and CSS Speech Module, all of which are in advanced state (the last one is already LC). But, it also implies work on the cluster of modules about advanced layout (CSS Template Layout Module, Grid Layout, CSS Grid Positioning Module Level 3, CSS Regions Module and CSS Exclusions [unpublished]), which still needs to be reduced down to just one or two much smaller specifications.
| Group | Chair | Team Contact | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Working Group (participants) | Daniel Glazman, Peter Linss | Bert Bos, Chris Lilley | Chartered until 30 September 2013 |
The WG was called “CSS & FP WG” from 1997 to 2000.
This Activity Statement was prepared for TPAC 2011 per section 5 of the W3C Process Document. Generated from group data.
Bert Bos, Style Activity LeadModified: $Date: 2012/01/11 23:02:18 $