WDR #1: Versioned Style Sheets

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

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” wasn’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

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 for companies you use every day (like Google) and companies you’ve never heard of, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also with respect to politics and philosophy. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my experiences and perspectives. (Please share feedback: Interpret charitably, but do be critical.)