The problem this article is pointing out is that you could have that database and still struggle.
It is easy to make a database of effects that work in isolation, for that matter GPT-4 will do a great job writing CSS to make isolated visual effects.
It’s when you need to put those visual effects to work inside of a real application or web site that you find it doesn’t work or rather almost works because of very fine details in how HTML and CSS work. Often you find you can move something forcibly a few pixels this way or that way but what works for the personal web site will be a nightmare for a complicated application that has multiple parts that multiple people are working on because you’ll need more hacks to deal with the consequences of those hacks.
It is real, global, and comprehensive understanding we need, not just another cheat sheet.
It is easy to make a database of effects that work in isolation, for that matter GPT-4 will do a great job writing CSS to make isolated visual effects.
It’s when you need to put those visual effects to work inside of a real application or web site that you find it doesn’t work or rather almost works because of very fine details in how HTML and CSS work. Often you find you can move something forcibly a few pixels this way or that way but what works for the personal web site will be a nightmare for a complicated application that has multiple parts that multiple people are working on because you’ll need more hacks to deal with the consequences of those hacks.
It is real, global, and comprehensive understanding we need, not just another cheat sheet.