Re: [WSG] textarea: why rows and cols?
Scott Swabey (Lafinboy Productions) wrote: I declare the height/width of textareas in CSS and don't use cols/rows in the markup. I haven't come across any problems in [ limited ] testing so far. Unfortunately a textarea without rows and cols attributes won't pass validation for xhtml 1.0 strict. I agree with the thread starter that the visual display size of a textarea should really be defined via CSS. If these were maxrows and maxcols, it would be a case for having it in the HTML, but as it stands this seems to muddy the line a bit too much... -- Patrick H. Lauke __ re·dux (adj.): brought back; returned. used postpositively [latin : re-, re- + dux, leader; see duke.] www.splintered.co.uk | www.photographia.co.uk http://redux.deviantart.com __ Web Standards Project (WaSP) Accessibility Task Force http://webstandards.org/ __ ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
Re: [WSG] textarea: why rows and cols?
Patrick H. Lauke wrote: I agree with the thread starter that the visual display size of a textarea should really be defined via CSS. If these were maxrows and maxcols, it would be a case for having it in the HTML, but as it stands this seems to muddy the line a bit too much... The need for the rows and cols attributes can be seen once you imagine the page without any CSS styling. Similarly, the requirement for the size attribute on a text input element and width and height on img the element. Ultimately CSS may not be available on all the devices for which we design and default rendering of unstyled elements will vary. -- Peter Asquith http://www.wasabicube.com/ ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
Re: [WSG] textarea: why rows and cols?
Peter Asquith wrote: The need for the rows and cols attributes can be seen once you imagine the page without any CSS styling. Similarly, the requirement for the size attribute on a text input element and width and height on img the element. Ultimately CSS may not be available on all the devices for which we design and default rendering of unstyled elements will vary. Personally, I find this type of answer quite dangerous, as it leads to a slippery slope. Yes, the default rendering of browsers may be different when CSS is not available, but does that mean we then still have to stuff visual cues in HTML? The same rationale would warrant the use of font colours, sizes, etc, imho. -- Patrick H. Lauke __ re·dux (adj.): brought back; returned. used postpositively [latin : re-, re- + dux, leader; see duke.] www.splintered.co.uk | www.photographia.co.uk http://redux.deviantart.com __ Web Standards Project (WaSP) Accessibility Task Force http://webstandards.org/ __ ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
Re: [WSG] textarea: why rows and cols?
Patrick H. Lauke wrote: Personally, I find this type of answer quite dangerous, as it leads to a slippery slope. Yes, the default rendering of browsers may be different when CSS is not available, but does that mean we then still have to stuff visual cues in HTML? The same rationale would warrant the use of font colours, sizes, etc, imho. I know what you mean, Patrick, but I think of the rows, cols, etc as topological, rather than decorative. While text can be quite happily shown in monochrome with nothing but native styling it is not so easy to default the topology of the elements - how do you know, by default, how many characters should be visible to the user in a text field, for instance? So there is a distinction, which I think is sufficient, but there's a distinctly slippery slope near at hand! Peter -- Peter Asquith http://www.wasabicube.com/ ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
Re: [WSG] textarea: why rows and cols?
Some interesting points covering this issue on this list in May: http://www.mail-archive.com/wsg@webstandardsgroup.org/msg17620.html Visible height and width do matter in text-based browsers that won't recognise CSS, to give the end user some indication as to the expected length of his response. A one row text entry area will attract different responses than a 10 row area. Regards, Jachin Sheehy On 6/27/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The rows and cols attributes - mandatory for any textarea element - defines the *VISIBLE* height and width of the element. So why are they in the mark-up? I've googled long and hard and haven't found anything to the contrary. Surely these attributes should be defined in the CSS. On 6/27/05, Scott Swabey (Lafinboy Productions) [EMAIL PROTECTED] replied: I declare the height/width of textareas in CSS and don't use cols/rows in the markup. I haven't come across any problems in [ limited ] testing so far. ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
[WSG] textarea: why rows and cols?
The rows and cols attributes - mandatory for any textarea element - defines the *VISIBLE* height and width of the element. So why are they in the mark-up? I've googled long and hard and haven't found anything to the contrary. Surely these attributes should be defined in the CSS. Any thoughts? ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
RE: [WSG] textarea: why rows and cols?
The rows and cols attributes - mandatory for any textarea element - defines the *VISIBLE* height and width of the element. So why are they in the mark-up? I've googled long and hard and haven't found anything to the contrary. Surely these attributes should be defined in the CSS. Any thoughts? I declare the height/width of textareas in CSS and don't use cols/rows in the markup. I haven't come across any problems in [ limited ] testing so far. Regards Scott Swabey General Manager Lafinboy Productions :: website design :: website development :: graphic design e [EMAIL PROTECTED] t +61 (0)415 193 126 w www.lafinboy.com ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
