abstract and introduction rewritten, the concept of "used values"

removed

Author: howcom

css3-cascade/Overview.src.html

@@ -49,12 +49,12 @@ <h2 class="no-num no-toc">[LONGSTATUS] [DATE]</h2>
 
 <h2 class="no-num no-toc">Abstract</h2>
 
-<p>This CSS3 module describes how values are assigned to properties.
-CSS allows several style sheets to influence the rendering of a
-document, and the process of combining these style sheets is called
-&ldquo;cascading&rdquo;. If no value can be found through cascading, a
-value can be inherited from the parent element or the property's
-initial value is used.
+<p>This CSS3 module describes how to find a value for every
+element/property combination in a document. Values can come from style
+sheets, or the property's initial value is used. By way of cascading
+and inheritance, values are propagated to all element/property
+combinations. The output of the computations described in this module
+is the <em>specified value</em>.
 
 <h2 class="no-num no-toc">Status of this document</h2>
 
@@ -105,8 +105,7 @@ <h2>Dependencies on other modules</h2>
 
 </ul>
 
-
-<p>It has non-normative (informative) references to the following other CSS3
+<p>It has non-normative references to the following other CSS3
 modules:</p>
 
 <ul>
@@ -117,18 +116,24 @@ <h2>Dependencies on other modules</h2>
 
 <h2>Introduction</h2>
 
-<p>One of the fundamental design principles of CSS is to allow several
-style sheets, possibly from different sources, to influence the
-rendering of a document. This CSS3 module describes how to select one
-among several conflicting declarations on a given element/property
-combination. The mechanism used in the selection process is called
-"cascading". When no declaration attempts to set the value of an
-element/property combination the value will either be inherited from
-the parent element, or set to the property's "initial value".
+<p>One of the fundamental design principles of CSS
+is <em>cascading</em>, which allows several style sheets to influence
+the presentation of a document. When different declarations try to set
+a value for the same element/property combination, the conflicts must
+somehow be resolved. 
+
+<p>The opposite problem arises when no declarations try to set a the
+value for an element/property combination. In this case, a value must
+be found by way of <em>inheritance</em> or by looking at
+the <em>initial value</em>. 
+
+<p>The rules for finding a the value for any element/property
+combination in a document is described in this specification.
+
 
 <h2>Input and output of this module</h2>
 
-<p>The input to the cascading and inheritance process is:
+<p>The input to the computations described in this module is:
 
 <ul>
 <li>The set of declarations that apply to the element/property combination in
@@ -140,8 +145,9 @@ <h2>Input and output of this module</h2>
 <li>The initial value of the property.
 </ul>
 
-<p>The output of the cascading and inheritance process is a single
-value, known as the <dfn>specified value</dfn>. 
+<p>The output of the computations described in this module is a single
+value for all element/property combinations. This value is called
+the <dfn>specified value</dfn>.
 
 <p>The specified value is found by using the following pseudo-algorithm: