Seems like a simple question, but I haven't found a good answer. If you're setting the width of say a text element, would you use the max-width or the width? Is one dynamic and the other static?
width specifies a fixed width for the element (whether it actually displays at that width depends upon a bazillion other factors, but that's another show). max-width lets the element layout at whatever width it would otherwise display, unless it would exceed the specified dimension, at which case it is capped at that dimension.
Essentially:
width = I would like you to draw this element at this width
max-width = Draw the element as you please, but no wider than this width