Speaking in Styles: Fundamentals of CSS

Chapter 4. Syntax: Creating Meaning

Syntax is how you put words together to create meaning: Punctuation and parts of speech are placed in a specific order to describe something. How you combine these elements has a direct effect on the meaning of what you are trying to communicate. To describe your Web designs, you need to understand the syntax of CSS.

Although CSS syntax is relatively simple compared to the syntax of a language such as English, it is also less forgiving of mistakes. A misplaced comma or semicolon might change your styles completely or might even turn your styles into incomprehensible gibberish, at least to the browser. But once ...