General description
The book “Visual CSS” by Greg Sidelnikov is a practical guide to working with cascading style sheets, with the main emphasis on visual explanation of CSS principles. The author consistently breaks down the main properties, selectors, and mechanisms used in creating modern web interfaces.
The book covers basic CSS elements: ways to include styles, selectors, pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements, the box model, and element positioning. Separate chapters are devoted to working with text, backgrounds, borders, shadows, and filters, as well as various ways to control element display on the page.
Much attention is given to modern layout methods. The author thoroughly explains Flexbox and CSS Grid, describes the principles of building responsive layouts, working with units of measurement, and space distribution on the page. Additionally, the book covers CSS transforms, animations, gradients, and other features that allow creating more dynamic and interactive interfaces.
Separate chapters touch upon the use of the SASS/SCSS preprocessor, working with variables, nested rules, and mixins. The material is accompanied by a large number of illustrations, diagrams, and clear examples, making it easier for the reader to understand exactly how various CSS properties and mechanisms work.
The book is intended for web developers who want to systematize their CSS knowledge and better understand modern layout tools.
Opinion
Not a bad book about CSS. On the plus side — the book has many images and it reads quickly. On the downside — it’s unlikely to suit absolute beginners who have never heard anything about CSS at all. Also, not all topics and properties are covered, but the basic topics are reflected well.
