JEFF: The suite doesn't currently keep track of how the browsers are
performing. Is this an attempt to keep the suite as a tool, rather than
adding any sort of editorial comment on the state of things?
ERIC: Yes. That's partly because I'm already tracking browser conformance
at the Style Sheets Reference Guide, so the
W3C has no need to duplicate my work, and because the W3C's role is
not one of enforcement, but is instead one of assistance. The Test Suite
wasn't created in an attempt to embarrass anyone. It's out there so authors
can get a feel for what they can use with confidence, and so that vendors
can create implementations without having to work in a vacuum. It can help
established vendors improve on their existing work, and give new vendors a
clear path to follow.
JEFF: Ahh, the established vendors and their existing work. Stylesheets support in browsers has been a hotly debated topic in certain design circles. From your perspective, what is the state of current CSS
support?
ERIC: I keep drifting back and forth on this issue. A few months back, I
wrote a piece titled "Surviving the Tall Grass," in which I complained a lot
about the fragmentary nature of CSS support in Web browsers. I still have at
least one CSS inconsistency-related episode of molar-grinding a week, more
or less. However, I've found that there are ways to use CSS, where, while the
looks won't be exactly the same in both major browsers, the looks will be
functional, reasonably attractive, and non-intrusive. That gives me some
measure of optimism, because it means that real authors can use CSS and use
it well.
I also draw hope from the fact that both major browsers have good chances
for improved CSS support. In my personal view, Microsoft's Internet team has
been pretty good about support for and involvement in the standards
process. If they keep up that trend, then we should see ever-improving
support for CSS, as well as other important standards.
On the Netscape side, the release of their source code and the
encouragement of third-party coding means that a group of dedicated
programmers could create a good, correct CSS implementation that would later
be integrated into Navigator's standard install. Now all we have to do is
find that group of programmers....
JEFF: But it does give designers and developers ammunition, right?
Basically, I can now say to a browser vendor, "Hey, your implementation of
the 'padding-top' property fails, according to the W3C CSS Test Suite. Fix
it!"
ERIC: Yes, I suppose that's true. What I would personally hope for is that
a vendor's engineering team would say, "Hey, our implementation fails
according to the W3C CSS Test Suite; we'd better fix that!" as opposed to
having them wait for user complaints. Failing that, though, the suite does
give people something to back up their bug reports.
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