are CSS layouts BS?
Out of context: Reply #20
- Started
- Last post
- 42 Responses
- abstrakt0
alright, here's my take.
Writing standards compliant non-table-layout code is like prepairing for the 2000 time changeover. Like somehow in the next few months or years, older HTML code isn't going to work anymore and standards compliant code will prevail. That just isn't true. Other excuses for CSS layouts are that disabled people can use them better and that people on small mobile devices can view them (although you can do a mobile version just fine with a tabled layout.) Now, lets think about this logic. Disabled people and people on mobile devices make up a TINY fraction of the visitors to a website, and the majority of the sites using CSS layouts won't have ANY disabled visitors, unless by accident. Wired.com and other larger sites are exceptions. So, here's the logic: The site will work fine for disabled people and people on mobile devices (which makes up less than .001 percent of visitors, unless you cater to those people), however older browsers like Netscape 4 (which make up about 3-4% of visitors) won't be supported, other than a basic text version of the site. So, in order to support .001 percent of your visitors, you're willing to give up a GUI for 3-4% of your users. Where's the logic in this? CSS+HTML is God's gift to the web. Style sheets save countless hours wasted updating pages. Plus the other cool CSS features like different style sheets for printing, mobile devices, etc. But that doesn't mean you should stop using tables all together. Basically, what I'm saying is the web isn't ready for this. There's too many browsers. What if a different version of MacOS or Windows came out every few months, and the previous software didn't work quite right after each update? Think software developers would create a version for each version of the OS? Most likely not. Now what if you could code your application a special way in that it will be almost guaranteed to work great in all previous versions, plus all future versions? Think about it.
And if you're wondering, I have coded 100% standards compliant websites, with no tables.