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Re: Use of Tables?

Subject: Re: Use of Tables?
From: "Bryan Sherman" <bsherm -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:46:01 -0500

I agree with much of what Geoff says. I often fall into the trap of
obsessing on the One True Way to do things. In this scenario it is CSS, but
sometimes you have to balance practical issues.

However, let me throw one more factor in support of CSS, accesbility. I know
in the past I have been told that screen readers have issues with reading
table formated web pages. Also, if you properly use CSS you can facilitate
folks using other devices. My Sony w810 is not a smartphone, but I can use
Opera Mini to read many web pages through it.

Of course both those issues depend on knowing your audience.


On 1/25/07, Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> wrote:


Shelly Kapoor wondered: <<What is your view on using Tables to
control text layout in the browser?>>

The first question to ask is whether it's truly necessary to control
the text layout, or whether you're just "font fondling". The great
advantage of online information in general and Web-based text in
particular is that it's customizable: I don't have to put up with
your fonts, window size, or layout if I don't like your design
choices. We ignore that flexibility at our peril.

<<Is there a better alternative to using tables?>>

Depends entirely on your answer to my question about your goals. If
the goal is to present hierarchically organized columns of
information, just like in a classic printed table, then the table
feature is your best choice. If the goal is complete control of the
visual image down to the last pixel, then a graphic or PDF is your
best choice.

Intermediate situations suggest that either a table or CSS may be
appropriate, depending on your goals. I'm a big fan of the potential
of CSS, but don't have any axes to grind about tables: they work just
fine for many purposes, and CSS is often overkill. CSS provides much
more layout flexibility, assuming you spend some time making sure the
layout will work in a range of browsers (i.e., keep it simple). But
my sense (not based on rigorous testing) is that tables work more
consistently than CSS across a range of browsers, and that's a point
in their favor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca

(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)

www.geoff-hart.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Follow-Ups:

References:
Use of Tables: From: Kapoor, Shelly
Use of Tables?: From: Geoff Hart

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