The World of CSS

Name: The World of CSS
ISBN: 9787115470669

张鑫旭Posts & Telecom Press2017

3.9

Word count: 310 words
Chapters: 16
Series: CSS World Trilogy
ISBN: 9787115470669

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Summary

The World of CSS is an advanced monograph on CSS written by front-end developer Zhang Xinxu. Published in December 2017 by Posts & Telecom Press under the "Asynchronous Books" brand, it is the first volume of the "CSS World Trilogy." Taking CSS's core mechanism, "flow," as its thread, the book moves from the structural level of elements and the box model to the content and decorative level of text processing, cascading, and flow direction, systematically setting out the CSS 2.1 knowledge system that front-end developers must master, while also covering some new features of CSS3. The book focuses on analyzing the nature of block-level and inline elements, the details of how width/height work, box-dimension-related properties, the destruction and protection of flow, cascading rules, text layout, the display and hiding of elements, user interface styles, and writing-mode, among other topics. The author breaks down the vaguely explained behaviors in specification documents one by one, combining a large number of practical cases and browser behaviors, striving to help readers understand "why styles behave this way" rather than merely memorizing how to write them. The book has a dedicated companion website offering example demonstrations and Q&A. Since publication it has long attracted attention in the Chinese front-end community, and in 2018 it became the best-selling technical book of Posts & Telecom Press.

Editor's review

CSS 入门容易、进阶极难，很多人都停在一个看不见的“天花板”下：能拼出页面，却说不清为什么。这本书正是为打破瓶颈而写。作者张鑫旭从 2009 年起持续写原创前端技术文章，是国内访问量极大的个人技术博客之一，许多前端初学者是读着他的文章成长起来的。它的两个特点是“深入”与“体系”。深入，指书里不满足于“这样写就对了”，而是追问浏览器渲染的底层原因；体系，指全书以“流”为主线串起散落的属性与规则，让读者从宏观上重新认识这门语言。加上大量鲜为人知的细节与实战案例、配套网站的在线实例与答疑，读起来更像一次系统性的补课。如果你已经会写页面，却常被宽度、百分比、内联元素基线、层叠顺序、垂直居中等细节绊住，这本书值得放在手边反复翻。

Who it's for

A good fit for

已有 HTML/CSS 基础、想突破进阶瓶颈的前端开发者
经常写页面但说不清 CSS 表现原因的自学转行者
需要系统梳理 CSS 布局与流机制的前端面试准备者
做设计还原、需要理解浏览器渲染细节的 UI 工程师

Not a good fit for

完全零基础、还没写过 HTML 页面的读者
只想找速查手册或属性词典的人
主要做移动原生或后端开发、几乎不接触网页样式的读者

Reading tips

先读第1—3章建立“流”的整体框架，再按需跳读后续章节，避免一上来就陷入细节。
每读到一个现象，都打开浏览器动手改样式验证，配套网站的示例可作为对照。
把书中的结论整理成自己的笔记卡片，标注适用浏览器与反例，方便日后查阅。
不必追求一次读完，可把它当进阶参考书，遇到具体样式问题时回查对应章节。

About the publisher

Posts & Telecom Press China · Founded in 1953

Posts & Telecom Press is known for its strengths in science and technology, computing, and information and communications titles, and has extended its publishing into photography, art, software learning, and inspirational growth, giving it a fairly diverse range. Its catalog includes computing and communications works such as Refactoring and Patterns (Revised Edition) and Huawei Switch Learning Guide (Second Edition), alongside bilingual collector's editions such as The Little Prince (Chinese-English-French illustrated collector's edition), The Great Gatsby, and Three Days to See. Beijing Ten Years: 1980-1990 and Ghost Blade: WLOP Personal Illustration Collection reflect its presence in photography and art. Its authors include Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Helen Keller, Joshua Kerievsky, Wang Da, Zhang Zhaozeng, and WLOP.

Copyright Information
Content Summary
Preface
Chapter 1 Overview
Chapter 2 Terms and Concepts to Understand in Advance
Chapter 3 Flow, Elements, and Basic Dimensions
Chapter 4 The Four Major Families of Box Dimensions
Chapter 5 Inline Elements and Flow
Chapter 6 The Destruction and Protection of Flow
Chapter 7 Cascading Rules in the World of CSS
Chapter 8 Powerful Text Processing Capabilities
Chapter 9 Decoration and Beautification of Elements
Chapter 10 Display and Hiding of Elements
Chapter 11 User Interface Styles
Chapter 12 Changing Flow Direction
Welcome to the Asynchronous Community

FAQ

这本书适合零基础学 CSS 吗？

不太适合。书中默认读者已能写基本页面，很少重复入门语法，重点在于解释 CSS 表现的底层原因。零基础读者建议先学完基础教程，再来看这本进阶书。

书里的 CSS 知识现在是否已经过时？

全书以 CSS 2.1 知识体系为主体，这部分是理解布局与渲染的基础，长期有效；同时兼顾了部分 CSS3 特性。现代 Flex 与 Grid 布局的细节覆盖有限，可配合《CSS新世界》等后续作品补充。

《CSS世界》和《CSS新世界》有什么区别？

《CSS世界》是三部曲首部，聚焦 CSS 2.1 的知识体系与“流”机制；《CSS新世界》2021 年出版，专门讲解 CSS3 及之后的新特性，篇幅更大。前者打基础与原理，后者补新特性。

书中内容与配套网站是什么关系？

作者为本书开发了专门的配套网站，用于展示文中实例、提供演示与问题答疑。阅读时对照网站上可交互的例子，更容易理解抽象规则，建议边读边动手。

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About the author

张鑫旭 Author

Zhang Xinxu is a technical author in the field of front-end web development in China. Publicly available information about him is limited, and details such as his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background have not been clearly recorded. Two of his works are included in the collection, both in the programming and design category: CSS World and HTML Is Not Simple: Advanced Secrets of Web Front-End Development. Judging from their titles and subject matter, his writing focuses on the fundamentals and advanced practice of front-end web development, centering on CSS layout and styling and on the structure and semantics of HTML, for Chinese readers who wish to solidify their basics and improve their practical skills. Such books typically explain specifications and techniques through concrete examples, in accessible language close to engineering practice. Because verifiable material is limited, his personal history and full bibliography cannot be described in detail here, but these two works already reflect his orientation toward the underlying knowledge of front-end development and toward careful attention to coding details.