[UPHPU] Validation

[Jonathan Duncan]

On Tue, 6 Jun 2006, Scott Hill wrote:

> On 6/6/06, Wade Preston Shearer <lists at wadeshearer.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Tables are not bad; misusing tables is bad… just like misusing any
>> tag or technology is bad. Tables should not be used for layout. That
>> is not what they were created for. Tables are to organized tabular
>> data or information. Does this mean that they can only be used for
>> text (like a spreadsheet)? No. If you have something like a catalogue
>> or a bunch of profiles with images and text that should be tabular
>> (multiple rows and columns), then use a table… that's what it's for.
>> But the skeleton and main structure of your site shouldn't be one
>> giant table. I can't force you to not do this, but I heartily
>> recommend it. You are significantly limiting yourself using tables
>> for structure. People need to stop thinking of pages like a flat
>> piece of paper or the whole "slices" thing. If you design by slicing
>> up your layout, they your site is limited and bloated. You need to
>> think two dimensionally… in layers. Don't think of a web page as a
>> "sheet," like you would a brochure. Think of as media, like
>> television. Build it with only the blocks you need instead of filling
>> in all of the cells like you were using a spreadsheet.
>>
>>

That is a very good way to explain it Wade.  The "slices" method was how I 
started also (back in 1994).  But you are very correct, with CSS it makes 
creating a web page more like creating a page in a newspaper or magazine 
or scrapbook.  There are multiple layers the sit on top of each other. 
Excellent way to put it.


> If I've misused tables it's because I don't know any better yet.  My first
> lame attempts at a web page came from looking at code from other sites and,
> at the time, almost all of the sites I looked at used nested tables to a
> fault.  However, I always try to learn as much as possible.  Also, because
> of my programming background, it's difficult to think of a web page as
> anything other than something flat.  But I will try to incorporate these new
> ideas into my designs.  And I promise I do use CSS (divs mostly) much more
> than I used to.  I just wish I had the time to really become fluent in CSS.
> It's like a whole other world.
>

This is how I learned also and probably how most people learned web pages, 
at least those who have been doing it for a while.  It is a very good way 
to learn, but also a good way to pick up bad habits.  ;)

If you would like to be enlightened and motivated to use more CSS and more 
standards I would suggest visiting this web site:

http://csszengarden.com/

Read the whole page, then click on all the links.  This will give you a 
real feel for the potential that proper/good use of CSS and web standards 
holds for everyone.

Jonathan