Background

The CSS standard was initially developed for use with HTML (by the W3C in 1996), specifically for implementation within Web browsers, and was born out of growing pressure for more author control over the presentation of Web pages. At the time of writing, only version 1 is fully supported by the most popular HTML Web browsers. This version can be obtained from http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/REC-CSS1. An earlier chapter explores the XSL format, and demonstrates how powerful and flexible this language is. It is reasonable to ask why two stylesheet standards should exist, and why XSL users should even consider CSS. The answer is partly a simple issue of timing. At the time of writing, CSS exists and is supported by the popular Web browsers, whereas XSL is still just a draft standard. In addition, CSS may be used when XSL is considered too complex for the task, as it is easier to learn. Although CSS is relatively simple in comparison with many stylesheet languages, its concentration on screen formatting gives it some unique advantages in this area.

It should be noted that the latest drafts of XSL include formatting properties that are copied from CSS equivalents, and that even the names of these properties are the same. This means that once CSS is understood, it should be easier to learn XSL as well.