Jens Oliver Meiert

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WDR #1: Versioned Style Sheets

Published on Nov 15, 2008 (updated Jun 10, 2024), filed under , . (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon.)

This and 133 other posts are also available as a well-behaved ebook: On Web Development.

Ladies and gents, all I present’s… the Web Dev Report, issue #1:

The Web Dev Report: Versioned style sheets.
Transcript.

(Marked up in reference to § 10.3, which is long since wrong.)

Guy 1:
Hey man, how’s it going?
I gotta tell you… these versioned style sheets damn rock…!
So, like default-20080301.css, default-20080623.css, default-20081012.css…
Guy 2:
(What the $#%@.)
Guy 1:
It’s sooo cool! Every time we modify our main style sheet we just append the date and have only certain pages use that CSS file. No messing with the old #$%@!
Guy 2:
So you treat your one site as several sites?
Guy 1:
Er.
Guy 2:
And with a redesign you want the kick to either update all versioned style sheets or update all documents to use the new default CSS?
Guy 1:
Err…
Guy 2:
And HTML/CSS prototypes are a waste of time and money, right?
Guy 1:
What the $#%@ man, leave me alone!

“Versioned” isn’t known to Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries, but it’s so popular, I decided to keep with it. More importantly, let’s see what happens to the report. Will there be an issue #2?

About Me

Jens Oliver Meiert, on March 2, 2026.

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager at various companies (e.g., Google); I’m an active web and tool developer (code optimization, digital defense), a contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and a book author (O’Reilly, Frontend Dogma).

I love trying things—in web development and engineering management, but also in politics and philosophy, where I hold to one idea in particular: that we can only be well if we take good care of everyone. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my perspectives and experiences. (Interpret charitably but be critical—and share feedback and advice that makes my work better.)