Re: [PHP] Re: CSS vs. Tables OT
Tables used for presentational layout are a hack, implemented in an albiet ingenious way to overcome the shortcomings of the Web quite a while ago now. Tables should be used for the display of tabular data, ie spreadsheets, calendars etc. Table layout increases download times, the deeper nested the worse it becomes. They compromise accessibility and the semantic structure of the content, and confuse screen readers and search engine bots. Clearly laid out with the proper use of captions, summaries, headers, etc for tabular data they are a beautiful thing. CSS layout is possible, faster, easier to maintain, more flexible and more accessible and the situation is only going to improve. The pain experienced by old-school designers at making the transition is understandable, but necessary. At the moment it's a subject of hot debate, but the tables-for-layout crowd are going to be increasingly marginalised as we move forward - and this is the way it should be as we try to evolve the web.
[PHP] Re: CSS vs. Tables OT
Robert Cummings wrote: > No, it's old school, the only way to do complex layout in the past. At > least tables are backward and forward compatible. I would not say tables are forwards compatible. If you are a company (at least in the UK) and your website does not meet accessibility guidelines you can be reprimanded. Table based layouts are one of the best ways to make non-accessible websites. Sticking to proper semantic and styling via CSS is one of the best ways to ensure your website /is/ accessible. So while tables may be forwards compatible in how your website looks to a visual renderer, that's not the only target Just my €0.02 Col -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
Re: [PHP] Re: CSS vs. Tables OT
On Tue, April 17, 2007 4:41 pm, Colin Guthrie wrote: > Robert Cummings wrote: >>> BTW, any web developer worth his or her salt with a reasonable >>> amount of >>> practice can make CSS layouts that resize as well as table based >>> layouts >>> everyday of the week. I will refer you to >>> http://www.csszengarden.com/ >> >> Only with hacks. > > The hacks fix buggy browsers tho'. Good browsers don't need hacks. All browsers are buggy. There are no good browsers. Browser-makers continue to rush to market with NEW FEATURES instead of focussing on QA. This will not change any time soon. -- Some people have a "gift" link here. Know what I want? I want you to buy a CD from some indie artist. http://cdbaby.com/browse/from/lynch Yeah, I get a buck. So? -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
[PHP] Re: CSS vs. Tables OT
Robert Cummings wrote: >> BTW, any web developer worth his or her salt with a reasonable amount of >> practice can make CSS layouts that resize as well as table based layouts >> everyday of the week. I will refer you to http://www.csszengarden.com/ > > Only with hacks. The hacks fix buggy browsers tho'. Good browsers don't need hacks. Also some of the hoops people jump through to produce designs for CSS Zen Garden (one of my favourite sites) are only done due to the fact that the HTML is absolute and unmovable. A normal design would give at least some flexibility in the HTML (e.g. putting extra divs and spans here and there). Col -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
