Comments inline, I'm asking for help as much as I am trying to answer, I'm learning too.
Do this -> :)
Jamie Mason: Design
-----Original Message-----
From: Kym Kovan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: 28 May 2004 10:59
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [WSG]
Hi all,
I've seen words to this affect quoted several times recently:
>Tables are for tabular data only,
and I agree with that philosophically but what is tabular data?
To me the third option from Chris:
>I would like to see a third version that uses a combination of the two,
>the best of each method merged.. The Hybrid Approach.
is very legitimate.
// To me, the combination of the two would be as before, the CSS for the layout and tables for areas of statistical information, for example. When issues arise and the CSS is inadequate for a certain aspect of presentation, and a table would work there, then use it, of course. Just remember to keep the table stripped down as much as possible and manipulate it's appearance in the CSS. //
There was a discussion recently where making a 3 column page using a bare table to create the 3 columns was suggested as 3 column layouts that are truly functional across all browsers is very hard to do, and that suggestion was decried by some as not fitting "the webstandards morality". I feel that 3 columns of content _is_ "tabular" and as such is ethically tolerable.
// It depends on how you define that, initially I disagree. Your site is full of content and has a layout which comprises of 3 columns, tables are best known for having columns, but having a 3 column layout doesn't make all your content tabular data, does it? //
Widening the scope of the topic a bit I also ponder the complex use of CSS to create workable layouts across all browsers, divs inside "container" divs and kludges everywhere, etc., as you often end up with a mess of divs that are just as hard to work through as tables and the accessibility, from, say, a screen-reader's perspective, is often no better than a table-based design.
// I agree, it still gets messy, but I think it's still cleaner than the original format, being tables, font tags etc. //
Using the 3 column example I mentioned earlier a single 3 column table holding the column content exactly as you want it (if I remember correctly the earlier discussion was about a layout with a fixed width RH column for news and proportional for the left and centre columns) is a lot less messy than the equivalent in pure CSS. Shouldn't that be the way to go?
// I'm not sure, you can do it in 3 floated, fixed-width divs and a clear. I might have misunderstood you here.(probably, I'm worn out haha) //
I'm for accessible hybrids :-)
--
Yours,
Kym
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