views:

39

answers:

1

Lots of div and classes name are being used in the code. http://www.csszengarden.com/

Is there any scope of improvement in semantic?

http://cssglobe.com/post/6957/class-names-revisited

this is mentioned in source code as a comment

This XHTML document is marked up to provide the designer with the maximum possible flexibility. There are more classes and extraneous tags than needed, and in a real world situation, it's more likely that it would be much leaner. However, I think we can all agree that even given that, we're still better off than if this had been built with tables.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"&gt;
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
<head>
    <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
    <meta name="author" content="Dave Shea" />
    <meta name="keywords" content="design, css, cascading, style, sheets, xhtml, graphic design, w3c, web standards, visual, display" />
    <meta name="description" content="A demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design." />
    <meta name="robots" content="all" />
    <title>css Zen Garden: The Beauty in CSS Design</title>
    <!-- to correct the unsightly Flash of Unstyled Content. http://www.bluerobot.com/web/css/fouc.asp -->
    <script type="text/javascript"></script>
    <style type="text/css" title="currentStyle" media="screen">
        @import "/001/001.css";
    </style>
    <link rel="Shortcut Icon" type="image/x-icon" href="http://www.csszengarden.com/favicon.ico" />
    <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://www.csszengarden.com/zengarden.xml" />
</head>
<body id="css-zen-garden">
    <div id="container">
        <div id="intro">
            <div id="pageHeader">
                <h1>
                    <span>css Zen Garden</span></h1>
                <h2>
                    <span>The Beauty of <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym> Design</span></h2>
            </div>
            <div id="quickSummary">
                <p class="p1">
                    <span>A demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">
                        CSS</acronym>-based design. Select any style sheet from the list to load it into
                        this page.</span></p>
                <p class="p2">
                    <span>Download the sample <a href="/zengarden-sample.html" title="This page's source HTML code, not to be modified.">
                        html file</a> and <a href="/zengarden-sample.css" title="This page's sample CSS, the file you may modify.">
                            css file</a></span></p>
            </div>
            <div id="preamble">
                <h3>
                    <span>The Road to Enlightenment</span></h3>
                <p class="p1">
                    <span>Littering a dark and dreary road lay the past relics of browser-specific tags,
                        incompatible <acronym title="Document Object Model">DOM</acronym>s, and broken <acronym
                            title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym> support.</span></p>
                <p class="p2">
                    <span>Today, we must clear the mind of past practices. Web enlightenment has been achieved
                        thanks to the tireless efforts of folk like the <acronym title="World Wide Web Consortium">
                            W3C</acronym>, <acronym title="Web Standards Project">WaSP</acronym> and the
                        major browser creators.</span></p>
                <p class="p3">
                    <span>The css Zen Garden invites you to relax and meditate on the important lessons
                        of the masters. Begin to see with clarity. Learn to use the (yet to be) time-honored
                        techniques in new and invigorating fashion. Become one with the web.</span></p>
            </div>
        </div>
        <div id="supportingText">
            <div id="explanation">
                <h3>
                    <span>So What is This About?</span></h3>
                <p class="p1">
                    <span>There is clearly a need for <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym>
                        to be taken seriously by graphic artists. The Zen Garden aims to excite, inspire,
                        and encourage participation. To begin, view some of the existing designs in the
                        list. Clicking on any one will load the style sheet into this very page. The code
                        remains the same, the only thing that has changed is the external .css file. Yes,
                        really.</span></p>
                <p class="p2">
                    <span><acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym> allows complete and total
                        control over the style of a hypertext document. The only way this can be illustrated
                        in a way that gets people excited is by demonstrating what it can truly be, once
                        the reins are placed in the hands of those able to create beauty from structure.
                        To date, most examples of neat tricks and hacks have been demonstrated by structurists
                        and coders. Designers have yet to make their mark. This needs to change.</span></p>
            </div>
            <div id="participation">
                <h3>
                    <span>Participation</span></h3>
                <p class="p1">
                    <span>Graphic artists only please. You are modifying this page, so strong <acronym
                        title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym> skills are necessary, but the example
                        files are commented well enough that even <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym>
                        novices can use them as starting points. Please see the <a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/resources/"
                            title="A listing of CSS-related resources"><acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym>
                            Resource Guide</a> for advanced tutorials and tips on working with <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">
                                CSS</acronym>.</span></p>
                <p class="p2">
                    <span>You may modify the style sheet in any way you wish, but not the <acronym title="HyperText Markup Language">
                        HTML</acronym>. This may seem daunting at first if you&#8217;ve never worked this
                        way before, but follow the listed links to learn more, and use the sample files
                        as a guide.</span></p>
                <p class="p3">
                    <span>Download the sample <a href="/zengarden-sample.html" title="This page's source HTML code, not to be modified.">
                        html file</a> and <a href="/zengarden-sample.css" title="This page's sample CSS, the file you may modify.">
                            css file</a> to work on a copy locally. Once you have completed your masterpiece
                        (and please, don&#8217;t submit half-finished work) upload your .css file to a web
                        server under your control. <a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/submit/" title="Use the contact form to send us your CSS file">
                            Send us a link</a> to the file and if we choose to use it, we will spider the
                        associated images. Final submissions will be placed on our server.</span></p>
            </div>
            <div id="benefits">
                <h3>
                    <span>Benefits</span></h3>
                <p class="p1">
                    <span>Why participate? For recognition, inspiration, and a resource we can all refer
                        to when making the case for <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym>-based
                        design. This is sorely needed, even today. More and more major sites are taking
                        the leap, but not enough have. One day this gallery will be a historical curiosity;
                        that day is not today.</span></p>
            </div>
            <div id="requirements">
                <h3>
                    <span>Requirements</span></h3>
                <p class="p1">
                    <span>We would like to see as much <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets, version 1">
                        CSS1</acronym> as possible. <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets, version 2">CSS2</acronym>
                        should be limited to widely-supported elements only. The css Zen Garden is about
                        functional, practical <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym> and
                        not the latest bleeding-edge tricks viewable by 2% of the browsing public. The only
                        real requirement we have is that your <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym>
                        validates.</span></p>
                <p class="p2">
                    <span>Unfortunately, designing this way highlights the flaws in the various implementations
                        of <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym>. Different browsers display
                        differently, even completely valid <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym>
                        at times, and this becomes maddening when a fix for one leads to breakage in another.
                        View the <a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/resources/" title="A listing of CSS-related resources">
                            Resources</a> page for information on some of the fixes available. Full browser
                        compliance is still sometimes a pipe dream, and we do not expect you to come up
                        with pixel-perfect code across every platform. But do test in as many as you can.
                        If your design doesn&#8217;t work in at least IE5+/Win and Mozilla (run by over
                        90% of the population), chances are we won&#8217;t accept it.</span></p>
                <p class="p3">
                    <span>We ask that you submit original artwork. Please respect copyright laws. Please
                        keep objectionable material to a minimum; tasteful nudity is acceptable, outright
                        pornography will be rejected.</span></p>
                <p class="p4">
                    <span>This is a learning exercise as well as a demonstration. You retain full copyright
                        on your graphics (with limited exceptions, see <a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/submit/guidelines/"&gt;
                            submission guidelines</a>), but we ask you release your <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">
                                CSS</acronym> under a Creative Commons license identical to the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/"
                                    title="View the Zen Garden's license information.">one on this site</a>
                        so that others may learn from your work.</span></p>
                <p class="p5">
                    <span>Bandwidth graciously donated by <a href="http://www.mediatemple.net/"&gt;mediatemple&lt;/a&gt;.
                        Now available: <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0321303474"&gt;
                            Zen Garden, the book</a>.</span>&nbsp;</p>
            </div>
            <div id="footer">
                <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer" title="Check the validity of this site&#8217;s XHTML">
                    xhtml</a> &nbsp; <a href="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/check/referer" title="Check the validity of this site&#8217;s CSS">
                        css</a> &nbsp; <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/" title="View details of the license of this site, courtesy of Creative Commons.">
                            cc</a> &nbsp; <a href="http://mezzoblue.com/zengarden/faq/#s508" title="Read about the accessibility of this site">
                                508</a> &nbsp; <a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/faq/#aaa" title="Read about the accessibility of this site">
                                    aaa</a>
            </div>
        </div>
        <div id="linkList">
            <div id="linkList2">
                <div id="lselect">
                    <h3 class="select">
                        <span>Select a Design:</span></h3>
                    <ul>
                        <li><a href="?cssfile=/213/213.css&amp;page=0" title="AccessKey: a" accesskey="a">Under
                            the Sea!</a> by <a href="http://www.ericstoltz.com/" class="c">Eric Stoltz</a></li>
                        <li><a href="?cssfile=/212/212.css&amp;page=0" title="AccessKey: b" accesskey="b">Make
                            &#8217;em Proud</a> by <a href="http://skybased.com/" class="c">Michael McAghon and
                                Scotty Reifsnyder</a></li>
                        <li><a href="?cssfile=/211/211.css&amp;page=0" title="AccessKey: c" accesskey="c">Orchid
                            Beauty</a> by <a href="http://www.kevinaddison.com/" class="c">Kevin Addison</a></li>
                        <li><a href="?cssfile=/210/210.css&amp;page=0" title="AccessKey: d" accesskey="d">Oceanscape</a>
                            by <a href="http://www.pixel-house.com.au/" class="c">Justin Gray</a></li>
                        <li><a href="?cssfile=/209/209.css&amp;page=0" title="AccessKey: e" accesskey="e">CSS
                            Co., Ltd.</a> by <a href="http://www.benklemm.de/" class="c">Benjamin Klemm</a></li>
                        <li><a href="?cssfile=/208/208.css&amp;page=0" title="AccessKey: f" accesskey="f">Sakura</a>
                            by <a href="http://www.re-bloom.com/" class="c">Tatsuya Uchida</a></li>
                        <li><a href="?cssfile=/207/207.css&amp;page=0" title="AccessKey: g" accesskey="g">Kyoto
                            Forest</a> by <a href="http://rpmdesignfactory.com/" class="c">John Politowski</a></li>
                        <li><a href="?cssfile=/206/206.css&amp;page=0" title="AccessKey: h" accesskey="h">A
                            Walk in the Garden</a> by <a href="http://users.skynet.be/bk316398/temp.html" class="c">
                                Simon Van Hauwermeiren</a></li>
                    </ul>
                </div>
                <div id="larchives">
                    <h3 class="archives">
                        <span>Archives:</span></h3>
                    <ul>
                        <li><a href="/?cssfile=/001/001.css&amp;page=1" title="View next set of designs. AccessKey: n"
                            accesskey="n"><span class="accesskey">n</span>ext designs &raquo;</a></li>
                        <li><a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/alldesigns/" title="View every submission to the Zen Garden. AccessKey: w"
                            accesskey="w">Vie<span class="accesskey">w</span> All Designs</a></li>
                    </ul>
                </div>
                <div id="lresources">
                    <h3 class="resources">
                        <span>Resources:</span></h3>
                    <ul>
                        <li><a href="/001/001.css" title="View the source CSS file for the currently-viewed design, AccessKey: v"
                            accesskey="v"><span class="accesskey">V</span>iew This Design&#8217;s <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">
                                CSS</acronym></a></li>
                        <li><a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/resources/" title="Links to great sites with information on using CSS. AccessKey: r"
                            accesskey="r"><acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym> <span class="accesskey">
                                R</span>esources</a></li>
                        <li><a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/faq/" title="A list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Zen Garden. AccessKey: q"
                            accesskey="q"><acronym title="Frequently Asked Questions">FA<span class="accesskey">Q</span></acronym></a></li>
                        <li><a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/submit/" title="Send in your own CSS file. AccessKey: s"
                            accesskey="s"><span class="accesskey">S</span>ubmit a Design</a></li>
                        <li><a href="http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/translations/" title="View translated versions of this page. AccessKey: t"
                            accesskey="t"><span class="accesskey">T</span>ranslations</a></li>
                    </ul>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
    <!-- These extra divs/spans may be used as catch-alls to add extra imagery. -->
    <div id="extraDiv1">
        <span></span>
    </div>
    <div id="extraDiv2">
        <span></span>
    </div>
    <div id="extraDiv3">
        <span></span>
    </div>
    <div id="extraDiv4">
        <span></span>
    </div>
    <div id="extraDiv5">
        <span></span>
    </div>
    <div id="extraDiv6">
        <span></span>
    </div>
</body>
</html>
+3  A: 

The big comment kinda answers your question. The CSS Zen Garden is built as a novelty with tons of no-semantic-value tags and attributes to allow for infinite stylings. It's not meant as a model of how a real webpage should organize itself.

Using this sort of HTML in parts of your document where it's necessary is fine, since you're in charge of the CSS. Don't use this kind of markup where you don't need it, but it's perfectly acceptable in small amounts. The Zen Garden just puts it everywhere, just in case.

Matchu