divs, floats, absolute, relative, static,fixed

[geckografix]

I have just started an ADOBE dreamweaver course with FLASH too, I am 45 and looking for a career change, currently a Chef by trade for 30 years but thoroughly enjoy doing this, I am upto unit 8 where we are on the above title section and am completely flustered, I understand that this is an essential key area for progressing onto harder and more complex stuff, so i need some help with someone explaining it without all the professional language i need laymans terms please, I am a chef and we are use to grunting and throwing pots to communicate, so simple simple terms and descriptions please!!!

[Mick]

Sorry that I can't help, but just wanted to say I enjoyed your description of how

you, as a cook, communicate by "grunting and throwing pots".

 

Great for you for enjoying programming, seeking a career change, and saving thousands

by teaching yourself with the help of Killersites! Best of luck to you.

 

Flash is about dead in the water, and I am not going to bother learning it. The reason

is because Apple does not use it on any of its recent mobile devices, from the iPhone on.

Other manufactures will be following suit or already have. In websites, Flash is replaced

by newer (or expansion of existing) technology.

 

I''m not sure if your track is Web Designer or Web Programmer (called Front End Engineer

in the job listings), but if it's the latter, then concentrate on HTML, CSS, Javascript,

and PHP.

 

I got halfway through the basic Dreamweaver course and then decided it's much easier to

"hand code" using a good editor, such as Sublime Text 2 (free download, would like you

to pay after a trial period, but you can still use), or even Notepad for that matter,

than to use Dreamweaver. I guess it's a matter of personal preference.

[Wickham]

Start with simple code to test out what each position can do. Forget static, hardly ever actually stated as it's the default.

 

Position: relative and position: absolute are essential to learn and position: fixed is more or less self-explanatory except that it doesn't work in old IE browsers.

 

See http://www.wickham43.net/divboxes.php and http://www.wickham43.net/threecolumns.php or Google div boxes.

 

The float principle is often hard for beginners especially the need to clear floats. See http://www.wickham43.net/firefoxbackground.php because floats can affect the way a background does (or doesn't) show and the way following divs can move up beside or over floated divs if you don't clear the float.

 

Flash is on the way out because it's bad for SEO (search engine optimisation).