Keeping Up With CSS

#css #webdev

The following was originally sent out in my weekly newsletter.

If you're reading this, you're probably at least a little bit interested in CSS 😉 And you may have noticed it's moving a record pace in the last couple of years. Chris Coyier did a real quick round-up of some things on their way and even newly supported or with experimental status. Also at the recent TPAC (Technical Plenary and Advisory Committee - aka the W3C Annual Conference) Miriam Suzanne shared a ~6min presentation on the specs she's working on: cascade layers, container queries, and scope.

A frequent question I'm asked is how to keep up with the changes in CSS. Before we get into tactics, keep in mind: while the changes can seem overwhelming, the actual stage of a spec mean that it could be a long ways off before support is great enough to start using the new hotness. That said, if you are interested about something, it's not futile to generate excitement about it! As I've heard Jen Simmons say, browser makers are listening.

MiAAAAAAAh (is Terrifying)

@terriblemia

🥳 what's now well-established in all browsers?
🤩 what's new somewhere, but still needs progressive-enhancement?
🤗 what's available to try, but still too experimental for production?
😅 what's coming out somewhere soon?
🤯 what's exciting, but actually a long way off?

18:28 PM - 26 May 2021

Also check out this perspective-altering Twitter thread from Brad Frost. TL;DR - it's not about learning everything right now, it's about having awareness of what's possible to help you develop a solution when you need it!

Did you know the CSSWG posts all their work as issues on GitHub? So one way to discover the status of something is to search there. Then you can actually use the emoji reacts on comments or even add your own comment if you have helpful feedback on the proposal. You can also add your own issue for discussion. And, you can subscribe to issues to keep track of ones you're really interested in.

You can also follow the CSS Working Group on Twitter and/or subscibe to their blog RSS.

I rely a lot on a few folks to surface what's going new and upcoming as well as early demos and explainers. In particular, the following individuals come to mind to follow on Twitter:

I also subscribe to several newsletters, with the following being my favorites for CSS news:

What's missing from my list of folks or sources to follow? I've grown my network a lot this past year but I'm sure I'm missing some amazing content! Comment and let me know!