The specification for Basic User
Interface, one of the 29 modules that constitute CSS3 (the
next generation of the Cascading Style Sheets formatting language)
has been published as a Last Call Working Draft.
The major changes between this draft and the previous (2 August
2002) draft include the addition (based on input from the XForms
working group) of some new user interface selectors:
A list of all
the major changes is provided near the beginning of the
document.
The Basic User Interface specification details CSS properties for
controlling the "interactive, dynamic aspects of Web pages" --
that is, for controlling the look and feel of the user-interface
parts of pages; for example:
- changing the look (outline and color) of an element (e.g., a
form control) based on its current state (e.g., whether it's
checked, active, being hovered over, has focus, etc.)
- making an element (e.g., a text box on a form)
horizontally/vertically resizable
- controlling the cursor shape based on the element it is
currently hovering over
- specifying a keyboard equivalent to activate a particular
element
The CSS Working Group is inviting public comment on the Last
Call draft through 31 July 2003. Comments should be posted to the
www-style@w3.org mailing
list (archive).
The CSS "Under Construction" page provides a handy "roadmap"
table with links/status info for the various CSS3 module
specifications. The Introduction to CSS3 document is also a good place to
start.
A list of other current W3C Last Call Working Drafts is also available.