... part of the Web Site of George North -- Back to Site Index
Webpage Design and Development, CPST-2400-10
with HTML5 and CSS3
Spring 2019

Key Terms - Tutorial 4
Assignments
News

Glossary of Key Terms for Tutorial 4

absolute positioning A method of positioning that places objects a specified coordinates on the page.

asymmetrical balance A design principle in which one large page object is balanced against two or more smaller objects.

background property The CSS property that defines the element background by specifying the source of the image file, the location of the background image, and the direction in which the background image is repeated.

background-origin The CSS property that specifies where the background image originates.

background-size The CSS property that specifies the size of the background image.

balance A design principle based on the distribution of elements.

block A display style in which the content is displayed on a new line as a rectangular block following the box model.

border box In the CSS box model, the box that contains the content and padding boxes.

border property The CSS property used to create a border around an element.

border-bottom property The CSS property that defines the appearance of an element's bottom border.

border-radius property The CSS property used to create a rounded or elongated corner around an element.

box model A CSS layout model in which element content is surrounded by a padding space and then by a border and finally by a margin space.

clip property A CSS property that defines a clipping rectangle, cropping an element.

content box In the CSS box model, the box that contains the content of the element.

contrast A design principle based on the difference among all of the page elements.

CSS-P. See CSS-Positioning.

CSS-Positioning (CSS-P) A collection of CSS styles used to position page elements.

display property The CSS property that specifies how browsers should display an element.

DOCTYPE In an XML document, the statement that indicates the XML vocabulary in use.

drop cap A design element that consists of an enlarged initial letter in a body of text that drops down into the text body.

elastic layout A layout design in which element sizes are proportioned relative to the default font size.

emphasis A design principle based on creating a focal point which is the center of emphasis in the page.

fixed layout A layout design in which elements are fixed regardless of the screen resolution.

float property The CSS property used to float elements on a specified margin.

floating A technique in which elements are taken out of the normal document flow and placed alongside the left or right margin of their containing element with subsequent content flowing around them.

fluid layout A layout design in which element sizes are proportioned relative to the screen resolution.

height property A CSS property that defines the height of an element.

liquid layout. See fluid layout

margin property The CSS property used to set the margin space around an element.

margin The space that separates an element from other elements on the page.

outline property The CSS property used to create an outline around an element.

overflow property A CSS property that defines how browsers should handle content that exceeds an element's allotted height and width.

padding box In the CSS box model, the box that contains the space around the content box.

padding property The CSS property that sets the padding space around element content.

position property A CSS property that defines how objects should be placed on the page.

relative positioning A method of positioning that places elements relative to where the browser would have placed them by default.

reset style sheet A style sheet that removes many of the browser-specific style rules.

rhythm A design principle based on the repetition or alternating of elements in order to provide a sense of movement, flow, and progress.

symmetrical balance A design principle in which similar elements offset each other like items on a balance scale.

tiling A process by which a background image is repeated horizontally, vertically, or both in order to cover the background space of an element.

unity A design principle based on combining different design elements into a cohesive whole.

vendor extension Extension to the CSS language created and supported by specific browser manufacturers.

watermark A semi-transparent background image resembling a printer's logo woven into the fabric of specialized paper.

width property A CSS property that defines the width of an element.

z-index property A CSS property used to stack overlapping page elements.