Mike at Green-Beast.com wrote:
A form is a list of controls and their related inputs, but we wouldn't use a
list to organize form controls, so we'd use fieldsets/legends, labels and
inputs. Using the Q&A scenario which you might use to try and justify the
use of a DL to organize a form, let's swap out the elements with their
appropriate ones (which need to be used anyway).
DL = Fieldset
?? = Legend
DT = Label (the "Q")
DD = Input (the "A")
First of all <label> and <input> are *inline* elements they are not
*blocks* of structure.. they're inline and substituting <dt> with
<label> or <dd> with <input> doesn't seem right to me at all... you
can't just swap them :) It's similar mistake to building headings on
<strong> elements.
<label> element is to specify labels for controls that do not have
implicit labels and to me that's all its semantics.
With <label> you just transparently wrap text that makes label for form
control - it's not structure block in your document.
It seems to me the form has everything we need to properly organize it. Once
it's made we can add then a few styles and layout rules with CSS to make it
look good. This means the DL isn't needed and would serve only as extraneous
mark-up.
I think that trying to fit every kind of form into group of fieldsets is
abuse to <fieldset> element. If the specs would be after it.. it will
say that form can contain one or more <fieldset> element only.. but it
doesn't say so.
Fieldset is optional element that should be used if we have different
thematic groups in our form so they're easier to distinguish (they're
more accessible). I think also that structuring <form> with one
<fieldset> as its only child doesn't make much sense.
Your example is simple form with really one thematic group and you have
4 fieldsets there (?!).
Medyk
--
Mariusz Nowak
Skype: mariuszn3
AIM: mariuszn3
http://www.medikoo.com
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