> At 3/6/2007 11:04 PM, Thierry Koblentz wrote: >> For me if it fits in a two column table then it's not tabular data.
> And self-contradictory: if it "fits in a table" then > it is by definition "tabular," number of columns aside. I didn't say that. What I said is if it *only* fits in a table then it is tabular data. > HTML? I've just re-read what the HTML 4.1 spec has to say about > table markup and structure, and nowhere did I see any restriction on > the number of columns a table may have. I didn't say that either. Actually, I never made any reference to the specs, my post was only about how *I* define tabular data. Since there is no definitive answer, I just tried to come up with a definition that would help me make simplier decision about mark up. >> I have a >> need for a table when it is the only tool that would make sense of >> the data. Usually that's the way I think about it, if it makes sense >> only in a table then it's tabular data. > If you apply that same rigorousness to all of HTML's tags you're > going to tie yourself up in knots. You could as easily say that you Where did I say I was applying this kind of thinking for every single "tag"? I think you're missing my point which is only my personal way to define tabular data and has nothing to do with any other HTML 'tag". > inflexibility you're seeking? If someone marks up a two-column > dataset as H3-P pairs I don't think they're marking it up > incorrectly, just differently, with some arguable advantages and > disadvantages depending on their circumstances. It's not about what people do and how they do it, it's about defining "tabular data". Using the example above, I'd say that - for me, based on my own definition - I would not consider this as tabular data if it makes sense as H3-P without the use of a table. >> I don't think the other way around, I don't leave >> room for any other consideration. So in short, if it *also* makes >> sense in a DL or an UL or anything else (without styling), then it >> is not tabular data. Because only tables can display tabular data. > You're expecting the markup language to be excessively > rigorous. HTML has latitude, gives us choices, leaves us room to be > creative and inventive and to come up with multiple solutions to > problems. If you paint yourself into tight corners then your own > innovations will become brittle and uninspired. Not at all Paul. Please read my post again and you'll see that I'm not talking about how things should be marked up, but how I "recognize" tabular data (the way I do it). --- Regards, Thierry | www.TJKDesign.com ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *******************************************************************
