position in CSS

Question

what is difference between relative position and absolute position is CSS eg .style { position:relative; }

.style { position:absolute; }

Answer 1

From W3schools:

Absolute

Generates an absolutely positioned element, positioned relative to the first parent element that has a position other than static. The element's position is specified with the "left", "top", "right", and "bottom" properties

Relative

Generates a relatively positioned element, positioned relative to its normal position, so "left:20" adds 20 pixels to the element's LEFT position

Also check this page, it will give you very nice overview about positions in CSS.

Answer 2

The standard describes it here: Comparison of normal flow, floats, and absolute positioning

Is there something in particular about this which you don't understand or want explaining further?

Answer 3

With relative you can position the element relative to its original position and the original space is still holding the item.

Absolute takes the item out of the regular flow of the HTML and you can position it relative to the parent element.

Answer 4

Here is a good tutorial about that:

http://jimbojw.com/wiki/index.php?title=Position_absolute_is_really_relative%3F