Where the reset.css
tool breaks down the default stylesheets of the different browsers, the base.css
tool then builds upon this level foundation to provide basic styling across a range of commonly used elements.
There are certain elements on your page that just should be styled differently from other elements. Heading text for example, simply should stand out from body text; that's the whole point of heading text in the first place.
So the Base CSS Tool reintroduces some of the presentational styles of the common elements that the Reset CSS Tool neutralizes, but it does so in a way that is consistent across browsers. Italics and boldface are restored to those elements where you would expect them.
Headings are all made bold and given increasing sizes that can be rendered reliably in all browsers. Those sizes are expressed in relative (percentage) units so the headings will scale correctly if the user zooms in. Space is provided both above and below each heading and also after paragraphs...