Blueprint and CSS frameworks
If you are involved in the CSS world and you haven't been living under a rock lately, you have probably heard of Blueprint. Blueprint is a CSS framework, something of which there are very few right now. A CSS framework is a core set of CSS files which provide a starting point for CSS development; base styles and classes that you can use in your design. Blueprint has some very nice expert CSS features which most designers usually forget about when developing CSS, such as reset styles for equalizing appearance across browsers, typography that follows a vertical rhythm, and a print stylesheet. I decided to give it a try with a project I am currently working on, and I have to say that it cut my CSS development time in half… and I work fast.
Olav Bjorkoy, the "nobody" behind Blueprint, had this to say in response to the huge exposure that Blueprint has received:
As Blueprint is just a light breeze of a project, this gap in the market is a vacuum waiting to be filled. This sucks, as most vacuums do, so if anyone reading this is considering releasing their own framework or toolbox, please do so. — Blueprint: 54548, 6118, 1558, 1217
I joined the mailing list for Blueprint over at Google groups and I have been sharing in the discussion over the past couple days. There has been a lot of good talk there and new development for Blueprint will be coming very quickly. It's an exciting time for CSS development and Olav deserves big kudos for getting the ball rolling.
I have to admit, though, that I'm a bit skeptical of some of the ideas in Blueprint. For one thing, it enforces a base font-family and link styles. These are things that I don't think a framework should do; at least not at the core level. It also has a very complex grid foundation which is very useful for skilled developers like myself but is probably very daunting for those with less CSS experience. These are things which have been mentioned in the Blueprint discussions but ultimately Blueprint is Olav's work and the best way to contribute is to write your own modifications and release them under the same open license… which is exactly what I plan to do. As soon as I can (sometime next week), I will put together a similar CSS framework, one that will definitely be a bit lighter, and I will put together some "modules" to go along with it. My contributions might end up being used in Blueprint, or they might not. It's all good regardless. The important thing is to fill that vacuum of CSS frameworks like Olav said.
One more thing: you might be thinking, at this point, that CSS frameworks really aren't that necessary. Obviously CSS is not a complex language like Javascript so it doesn't really need any complex frameworks. This is definitely true, but once you try developing with some base styles and classes at the start of your workflow, you can't possibly argue that CSS frameworks are not useful. Plus, I can see frameworks like Blueprint being very useful to people that are still learning the ropes of CSS, especially those still making the switch from table-based designs.
If I have a PSD, it takes me 15 minutes or thereabouts to turn it into a cross-browser compatible layout. I think having a framework that I'd have to modify, track down parts doing things I don't like, etc would only serve to increase the time spent working the CSS.
Jem: A framework is only meant to cover the things that are always the same across all project you do. I think you can imagine some rules you write in CSS all the time that never change from one project to the next. I know of at least 100 lines of them, regardless of what the design looks like. For that, a framework is useful.
*projects. Ignore my bad spelling.
Downloading and looking at it now
I did hear of it before but I usually wait until I read an un-bias pov before I try it if it sounds good.
I know what a framework does. However, even things are the same across all projects (i.e. layout structure, etc) often still require some fine tweaking to suit the needs of the individual project, and I'd rather tweak my own code than someone else's. Any code that is absolutely identical is copied & pasted from one of my many 'snippet' files - hardly a difficult or lengthy process that needs to be refined with a framework.
I generally support the idea of frameworks for large languages like PHP, where the same tasks are the same tasks are the same tasks. CSS - which is so easy to write anyway (as you said) - really doesn't need to made any easier. IMO it's just promoting lazy coding.
Or perhaps I'm just too much of a perfectionist.
It could be used for beginners and people still trying to get a handle on CSS..