In class, we were discussing the displaying of images with the <img> tag, and I talked about not changing the aspect ratio.  I want to make sure the concept is clear.

The aspect ratio is simply the ratio between the width and height of an image. Here is an image with a 1:1 aspect ratio — that means that the width and height are the same. Continue reading Don’t Touch that Aspect Ratio! →

As we were discussing what can fit on the screen, a question came up about the meaning of screen resolution.  Let me attempt a quick overview here.

The basic graphic unit for computers is the pixel (short for picture element).  What we see displayed on a monitor is composed of a grid of pixels.  The screen resolution is the dimensions of this grid.  For early computer monitors, a typical resolution was 640 x 480 — in other words, the grid was 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high.   Continue reading Who needs resolutions? →

As you’ve been discovering all semester, it can be challenging to get your CSS code to do exactly what you want it to! Recently, I was looking over an interesting book, The CSS Detective Guide: Tricks for solving tough CSS mysteries by Denise R. Jacobs. A lot of good ideas here, much along the lines of what we’ve discussed in class, but with much greater detail.

And I learned something new. The book referred me to a page at W3C, validator.w3.org/docs/errors.html. This document explains, with a bit more verbosity than the default, the meaning of the various error messages put out by the HTML validator. Feeling stuck? Check it out!