Stlesheets versus Skin Packages

I have seen topics on which skins to include with new releases of TWiki, and problems involved in doing so, ie: Not all plugins work with some skins etc. Skins have included major modifications to templates, even new templates.

Re: DoNotIncludeSkinPackages

I also know from experience that some, if not most, users have had levels of frustration trying to install some of these, including myself to a large degree.

On this line, I know that as a designer working with CSS based design principles, the whole point of Web Standards and CSS is that the content remains the same, style is completely separated from structure. This is the future, and present path of the W3C, and the point behind the Web Standards Movement. To quote them:

The ultimate aim for a website is to separate presentation (colours, fonts, layout, positioning) from content. This is achieved using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

This has to be seen in an example I know:

http://www.csszengarden.com/

CSS Zen Garden is one of the best known examples of where we as designers are going. There designers download a template. The only thing they are allowed to change is the stylesheet, NOTHING ELSE.

I would very seriously ask you to take the time to browse a lot of the samples here, it is worth the investment timewise This is the future of CSS design and the web, separating structure and content from design.

On this principle, options to change the Design and Layout of TWiki could be based on a change of stylesheets alone. Templates would be unaffected, broken plugins a thing of the past, and users could completely change their layout by replacing the stylesheet ONLY.

-- BruceRProchnau - 14 Apr 2005

Indeed, this was a goal of ConsolidateFunctionalityFromSkins

Would anyone object to:

1. Retiring the "Skin" classification and replacing with another - theme or something - the use of the name of which is a guarantee that they use the new framework.
2. Mandating that new themes/whatever be pure CSS?

-- MartinCleaver - 14 Apr 2005

the extra functionality embedded in the skin then would have to be separated as an addon instead perhaps?

-- BruceRProchnau - 14 Apr 2005

It was stated elsewhere that patternskin works with everything. If one went over the available skins, and made desired extra functions an addon, then created ThemesForPatternskin as a number of alternative drop in replacement stylesheets, then those using other skins wouldn't lose anything. Users not overly technically inclined would then have a simple and easy way to change the appearance and layout of their site.

-- BruceRProchnau - 14 Apr 2005

Ok. So I favour PatternSkin being split into core and visual parts:

1. css class names, etc -> TWikiCore
2. pattern-style css, etc -> PatternTheme

Then "Skin" becomes obsolete, people must write "themes" instead.

-- MartinCleaver - 14 Apr 2005