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14 Style Sheets

Contents

171

1. Introduction to style sheets

173

2. Adding style to HTML

173

1. Setting the default style sheet language

174

2. Inline style information

174

3. Header style information: the STYLE element

177

4. Media types

177

3. External style sheets

178

1. Preferred and alternate style sheets

178

2. Specifying external style sheets

179

4. Cascading style sheets

180

1. Media-dependent cascades

180

2. Inheritance and cascading

181

5. Hiding style data from user agents

181

6. Linking to style sheets with HTTP headers

14.1 Introduction to style sheets

Style sheets represent a major breakthrough for Web page designers, expanding their ability to improve

the appearance of their pages. In the scientific environments in which the Web was conceived, people are

more concerned with the content of their documents than the presentation. As people from wider walks of

life discovered the Web, the limitations of HTML became a source of continuing frustration and authors

were forced to sidestep HTML's stylistic limitations. While the intentions have been good -- to improve

the presentation of Web pages -- the techniques for doing so have had unfortunate side effects. These

techniques work for some of the people, some of the time, but not for all of the people, all of the time.

They include:

Using proprietary HTML extensions

Converting text into images

Using images for white space control

Use of tables for page layout

Writing a program instead of using HTML

These techniques considerably increase the complexity of Web pages, offer limited flexibility, suffer from

interoperability problems, and create hardships for people with disabilities.

Style sheets solve these problems at the same time they supersede the limited range of presentation

mechanisms in HTML. Style sheets make it easy to specify the amount of white space between text lines,

the amount lines are indented, the colors used for the text and the backgrounds, the font size and style, and

a host of other details.

171

14 Style Sheets

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For example, the following short CSS style sheet (stored in the file "special.css"), sets the text color of a

paragraph to green and surrounds it with a solid red border:

P.special {

color : green;

border: solid red;

}

Authors may link this style sheet to their source HTML document with the LINK element:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN"

"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">

<HTML>

<HEAD>

</HEAD>

<BODY>

<P class="special">This paragraph should have special green text.

</BODY>

</HTML>

HTML 4.0 provides support for the following style sheet features:

Flexible placement of style information

Placing style sheets in separate files makes them easy to reuse. Sometimes it's useful to include

rendering instructions within the document to which they apply, either grouped at the start of the

document, or in attributes of the elements throughout the body of the document. To make it easier to

manage style on a site basis, this specification describes how to use HTTP headers to set the style

sheets to be applied to a document.

Independence from specific style sheet languages

This specification doesn't tie HTML to any particular style sheet language. This allows for a range of

such languages to be used, for instance simple ones for the majority of users and much more complex

ones for the minority of users with highly specialized needs. The examples included below all use the

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) language [CSS1] [p.327] , but other style sheet languages would be

possible.

Cascading

This is the capability provided by some style sheet languages such as CSS to allow style information

from several sources to be blended together. These could be, for instance, corporate style guidelines,

styles common to a group of documents, and styles specific to a single document. By storing these

separately, style sheets can be reused, simplifying authoring and making more effective use of

network caching. The cascade defines an ordered sequence of style sheets where rules in later sheets

have greater precedence than earlier ones. Not all style sheet languages support cascading.

Media dependencies

HTML allows authors to specify documents in a media-independent way. This allows users to access

Web pages using a wide variety of devices and media, e.g., graphical displays for computers running

Windows, Macintosh OS, and X11, devices for television sets, specially adapted phones and

PDA-based portable devices, speech-based browsers, and braille-based tactile devices.

172

14.1 Introduction to style sheets

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Style sheets, by contrast, apply to specific media or media groups. A style sheet intended for screen

use may be applicable when printing, but is of little use for speech-based browsers. This specification

allows you to define the broad categories of media a given style sheet is applicable to. This allows

user agents to avoid retrieving inappropriate style sheets. Style sheet languages may include features

for describing media dependencies within the same style sheet.

Alternate styles

Authors may wish to offer readers several ways to view a document. For instance, a style sheet for

rendering compact documents with small fonts, or one that specifies larger fonts for increased

legibility. This specification allows authors to specify a preferred style sheet as well as alternates that

target specific users or media. User agents should give users the opportunity to select from among

alternate style sheets or to switch off style sheets altogether.

Performance concerns

Some people have voiced concerns over performance issues for style sheets. For instance, retrieving

an external style sheet may delay the full presentation for the user. A similar situation arises if the

document head includes a lengthy set of style rules.

The current proposal addresses these issues by allowing authors to include rendering instructions

within each HTML element. The rendering information is then always available by the time the user

agent wants to render each element.

In many cases, authors will take advantage of a common style sheet for a group of documents. In this

case, distributing style rules throughout the document will actually lead to worse performance than

using a linked style sheet, since for most documents, the style sheet will already be present in the

local cache. The public availability of good style sheets will encourage this effect.

14.2 Adding style to HTML

Note. The sample default style sheet for HTML 4.0 that is included in [CSS2] [p.329] expresses generally

accepted default style information for each element. Authors and implementors alike might find this a

useful resource.

HTML documents may contain style sheet rules directly in them or they may import style sheets.

Any style sheet language may be used with HTML. A simple style sheet language may suffice for the

needs of most users, but other languages may be more suited to highly specialized needs. This

specification uses the style language "Cascading Style Sheets" ([CSS1] [p.327] ), abbreviated CSS, for

examples.

The syntax of style data [p.51] depends on the style sheet language.

14.2.1 Setting the default style sheet language

Authors must specify the style sheet language of style information associated with an HTML document.

Authors should use the META element to set the default style sheet language for a document. For example,

to set the default to CSS, authors should put the following declaration in the HEAD of their documents:

173

14.2 Adding style to HTML

The default style sheet language may also be set with HTTP headers. The above META declaration is

equivalent to the HTTP header:

Content-Style-Type: text/css

User agents should determine the default style sheet language for a document according to the following

steps (highest to lowest priority):

1. If any META declarations specify the "Content-Style-Type", the last one in the character stream

determines the default style sheet language.

2. Otherwise, if any HTTP headers specify the "Content-Style-Type", the last one in the character

stream determines the default style sheet language.

3. Otherwise, the default style sheet language is "text/css".

Documents that include elements that set the style attribute but which don't define a default style sheet

language are incorrect. Authoring tools should generate default style sheet language information (typically

a META declaration) so that user agents do not have to rely on a default of "text/css".

14.2.2 Inline style information

Attribute definitions

style = style [p.51] [CN] [p.43]

This attribute specifies style information for the current element.

The style attribute specifies style information for a single element. The style sheet language of inline

style rules is given by the default style sheet language [p.173] . The syntax of style data [p.51] depends on

the style sheet language.

This example sets color and font size information for the text in a specific paragraph.

<P style="font-size: 12pt; color: fuchsia">Aren't style sheets wonderful?

In CSS, property declarations have the form "name : value" and are separated by a semi-colon.

The style attribute may be used to apply a particular style to an individual HTML element. If the style

will be reused for several elements, authors should use the STYLE element to regroup that information.

For optimal flexibility, authors should define styles in external style sheets.

14.2.3 Header style information: the STYLE element

<!ELEMENT STYLE - - %StyleSheet -- style info -->

<!ATTLIST STYLE

%i18n; -- lang, dir, for use with title --

type %ContentType; #REQUIRED -- content type of style language --

media %MediaDesc; #IMPLIED -- designed for use with these media --

title %Text; #IMPLIED -- advisory title --

174

14.2.2 Inline style information

Start tag: required, End tag: required

Attribute definitions

type = content-type [p.46] [CI] [p.43]

This attribute specifies the style sheet language of the element's contents and overrides the default

style sheet language. The style sheet language is specified as a content type (e.g., "text/css"). Authors

must supply a value for this attribute; there is no default value for this attribute.

media = media-descriptors [p.49] [CI] [p.43]

This attribute specifies the intended destination medium for style information. It may be a single

media descriptor or a comma-separated list. The default value for this attribute is "screen".

Attributes defined elsewhere

lang (language information [p.71] ), dir (text direction [p.73] )

title (element title [p.57] )

The STYLE element allows authors to put style sheet rules in the head of the document. HTML permits

any number of STYLE elements in the HEAD section of a document.

User agents that don't support style sheets, or don't support the specific style sheet language used by a

STYLE element, must hide the contents of the STYLE element. It is an error to render the content as part

of the document's text. Some style sheet languages support syntax for hiding the content [p.181] from

non-conforming user agents.

The syntax of style data [p.51] depends on the style sheet language.

Some style sheet implementations may allow a wider variety of rules in the STYLE element than in the

style attribute. For example, with CSS, rules may be declared within a STYLE element for:

All instances of a specific HTML element (e.g., all P elements, all H1 elements, etc.)

All instances of an HTML element belonging to a specific class (i.e., whose class attribute is set to

some value).

Single instances of an HTML element (i.e., whose id attribute is set to some value).

Rules for style rule precedences and inheritance depend on the style sheet language.

The following CSS STYLE declaration puts a border around every H1 element in the document and

centers it on the page.

<HEAD>

H1 {border-width: 1; border: solid; text-align: center}

</STYLE>

</HEAD>

To specify that this style information should only apply to H1 elements of a specific class, we modify it as

follows:

175

14.2.3 Header style information: the STYLE element

<HEAD>

H1.myclass {border-width: 1; border: solid; text-align: center}

</STYLE>

</HEAD>

<BODY>

<H1 class="myclass"> This H1 is affected by our style </H1>

<H1> This one is not affected by our style </H1>

</BODY>

Finally, to limit the scope of the style information to a single instance of H1, set the id attribute:

<HEAD>

#myid {border-width: 1; border: solid; text-align: center}

</STYLE>

</HEAD>

<BODY>

<H1 class="myclass"> This H1 is not affected </H1>

<H1 id="myid"> This H1 is affected by style </H1>

<H1> This H1 is not affected </H1>

</BODY>

Although style information may be set for almost every HTML element, two elements, DIV and SPAN,

are particularly useful in that they do not impose any presentation semantics (besides block-level vs. inline

[p.66] ). When combined with style sheets, these elements allow users to extend HTML indefinitely,

particularly when used with the class and id attributes.

In the following example, we use the SPAN element to set the font style of the first few words of a

paragraph to small caps.

<HEAD>

SPAN.sc-ex { font-variant: small-caps }

</STYLE>

</HEAD>

<BODY>

<P><SPAN class="sc-ex">The first</SPAN> few words of

this paragraph are in small-caps.

</BODY>

In the following example, we use DIV and the class attribute to set the text justification for a series of

paragraphs that make up the abstract section of a scientific article. This style information could be reused

for other abstract sections by setting the class attribute elsewhere in the document.

<HEAD>

DIV.Abstract { text-align: justify }

</STYLE>

</HEAD>

<BODY>

<P>The Chieftain product range is our market winner for

the coming year. This report sets out how to position

Chieftain against competing products.

176

14.2.3 Header style information: the STYLE element

<P>Chieftain replaces the Commander range, which will

remain on the price list until further notice.

</DIV>

</BODY>

14.2.4 Media types

HTML allows authors to design documents that take advantage of the characteristics of the media where

the document is to be rendered (e.g., graphical displays, television screens, handheld devices,

speech-based browsers, braille-based tactile devices, etc.). By specifying the media attribute, authors

allow user agents to load and apply style sheets selectively. Please consult the list of recognized media

descriptors [p.49] .

The following sample declarations apply to H1 elements. When projected in a business meeting, all

instances will be blue. When printed, all instances will be centered.

<HEAD>

H1 { color: blue}

</STYLE>

H1 { text-align: center }

</STYLE>

This example adds sound effects to anchors for use in speech output:

A { cue-before: uri(bell.aiff); cue-after: uri(dong.wav)}

</STYLE>

</HEAD>

Media control is particularly interesting when applied to external style sheets since user agents can save

time by retrieving from the network only those style sheets that apply to the current device. For instance,

speech-based browsers can avoid downloading style sheets designed for visual rendering. See the section

on media-dependent cascades [p.180] for more information.

14.3 External style sheets

Authors may separate style sheets from HTML documents. This offers several benefits:

Authors and Web site managers may share style sheets across a number of documents (and sites).

Authors may change the style sheet without requiring modifications to the document.

User agents may load style sheets selectively (based on media descriptions).

177

14.3 External style sheets

14.3.1 Preferred and alternate style sheets

HTML allows authors to associate any number of external style sheets with a document. The style sheet

language defines how multiple external style sheets interact (for example, the CSS "cascade" rules).

Authors may specify a number of mutually exclusive style sheets called alternate style sheets. Users may

select their favorite among these depending on their preferences. For instance, an author may specify one

style sheet designed for small screens and another for users with weak vision (e.g., large fonts). User

agents should allow users to select from alternate style sheets.

The author may specify that one of the alternates is a preferred style sheet. User agents should apply the

author's preferred style sheet unless the user has selected a different alternate.

Authors may group several alternate style sheets (including the author's preferred style sheets) under a

single style name. When a user selects a named style, the user agent must apply all style sheets with that

name. User agents must not apply alternate style sheets with a different style name. The section on

specifying external style sheets [p.178] explains how to name a group of style sheets.

Authors may also specify persistent style sheets that user agents must apply in addition to any alternate

style sheet.

User agents must respect media descriptors [p.49] when applying any style sheet.

User agents should also allow users to disable the author's style sheets entirely, in which case the user

agent must not apply any persistent or alternate style sheets.

14.3.2 Specifying external style sheets

Authors specify external style sheets with the following attributes of the LINK element:

Set the value of href to the location of the style sheet file. The value of href is a URI [p.44] .

Set the value of the type attribute to indicate the language of the linked (style sheet) resource. This

allows the user agent to avoid downloading a style sheet for an unsupported style sheet language.

Specify that the style sheet is persistent, preferred, or alternate:

To make a style sheet persistent, set the rel attribute to "stylesheet" and don't set the title

attribute.

To make a style sheet preferred, set the rel attribute to "stylesheet" and name the style sheet

with the title attribute.

To specify an alternate style sheet, set the rel attribute to "alternate stylesheet" and name the

style sheet with the title attribute.

User agents should provide a means for users to view and pick from the list of alternate styles. The value

of the title attribute is recommended as the name of each choice.

In this example, we first specify a persistent style sheet located in the file mystyle.css:

178

14.3.1 Preferred and alternate style sheets

Setting the title attribute makes this the author's preferred style sheet:

Adding the keyword "alternate" to the rel attribute makes it an alternate style sheet:

For more information on external style sheets, please consult the section on links and external style sheets.

[p.144]

Authors may also use the META element to set the document's preferred style sheet. For example, to set

the preferred style sheet to "compact" (see the preceding example), authors may include the following line

in the HEAD:

The preferred style sheet may also be specified with HTTP headers. The above META declaration is

equivalent to the HTTP header:

Default-Style: "compact"

If two or more META declarations or HTTP headers specify the preferred style sheet, the last one takes

precedence. HTTP headers are considered to occur earlier than the document HEAD for this purpose.

If two or more LINK elements specify a preferred style sheet, the first one takes precedence.

Preferred style sheets specified with META or HTTP headers have precedence over those specified with

the LINK element.

14.4 Cascading style sheets

Cascading style sheet languages such as CSS allow style information from several sources to be blended

together. However, not all style sheet languages support cascading. To define a cascade, authors specify a

sequence of LINK and/or STYLE elements. The style information is cascaded in the order the elements

appear in the HEAD.

Note. This specification does not specify how style sheets from different style languages cascade. Authors

should avoid mixing style sheet languages.

In the following example, we specify two alternate style sheets named "compact". If the user selects the

"compact" style, the user agent must apply both external style sheets, as well as the persistent

"common.css" style sheet. If the user selects the "big print" style, only the alternate style sheet

"bigprint.css" and the persistent "common.css" will be applied.

179

14.4 Cascading style sheets

Here is a cascade example that involves both the LINK and STYLE elements.

p.special { color: rgb(230, 100, 180) }

</STYLE>

14.4.1 Media-dependent cascades

A cascade may include style sheets applicable to different media. Both LINK and STYLE may be used

with the media attribute. The user agent is then responsible for filtering out those style sheets that do not

apply to the current medium.

In the following example, we define a cascade where the "corporate" style sheet is provided in several

versions: one suited to printing, one for screen use and one for speech-based browsers (useful, say, when

reading email in the car). The "techreport" stylesheet applies to all media. The color rule defined by the

STYLE element is used for print and screen but not for aural rendering.

p.special { color: rgb(230, 100, 180) }

</STYLE>

14.4.2 Inheritance and cascading

When the user agent wants to render a document, it needs to find values for style properties, e.g. the font

family, font style, size, line height, text color and so on. The exact mechanism depends on the style sheet

language, but the following description is generally applicable:

The cascading mechanism is used when a number of style rules all apply directly to an element. The

mechanism allows the user agent to sort the rules by specificity, to determine which rule to apply. If no

rule can be found, the next step depends on whether the style property can be inherited or not. Not all

properties can be inherited. For these properties the style sheet language provides default values for use

when there are no explicit rules for a particular element.

If the property can be inherited, the user agent examines the immediately enclosing element to see if a rule

applies to that. This process continues until an applicable rule is found. This mechanism allows style

sheets to be specified compactly. For instance, authors may specify the font family for all elements within

the BODY by a single rule that applies to the BODY element.

180

14.4.1 Media-dependent cascades

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