Posted by dorayme on 04/28/07 10:49

In article <slrnf367um.5hq.spamspam@bowser.marioworld>,
Ben C <spamspam@spam.eggs> wrote:

> On 2007-04-28, dorayme <doraymeRidThis@optusnet.com.au> wrote:

> > Another way of
> > putting it is that all the links in a navigational left column
> > can have a tabular relationship to items in a right col, but the
> > location of the right col is not on the same page but on another
> > page. This makes it a very different creature to the "purely for
> > display" table, it is much closer to the very idea of tabular
> > cross col mechanism that is at the heart of tables.
> >
> > It is not a black and white thing. There are degrees and there
> > are complexities. Purists, like ideologues everywhere, are prone
> > to condemning with a very broad brush.
>
> The truth is a table (as opposed to a <table>) is _really_ a rectangular
> grid. It can be used to represent various kinds of relationships, and so
> those are what we're clutching at in our quest for the abstract table.
>
> So long as the relationships aren't purely layout ("A should appear
> to the right of B", etc.) anything goes really.

Yes, an html table is a special thing, distinct from the
varieties of tables in the print medium. Btw, Periodic tables of
physical elements are rarely actually rectangular! They meander a
bit and need a certain understanding on the part of the viewer to
read it right - often helped by colour coding.

One of the objections to the use of tables for layout is that
they are hard to maintain, another is that they do not have a
clear semantics when so used. I have heard it also said that it
is not as friendly on accessibility grounds. You must know by now
(without necessarily agreeing of course) that I regard a two col
table with nav in one col and content in the other (or something
similar) as a rather special case, having rights that mere run of
the mill table layout messes can never claim.

It is endlessly fascinating to me how hard some people go to
avoid such and go to endless trouble for it. I have been tending
not to use tables for this (tho I have not got around to changing
one site I have in this respect) because I rather like the idea
of "columns" not being so regular and "finishing together" in
website construction. I like what you can do with floats and
things. But I don't get the feeling some people enjoy it at all,
they seem, in their avoidence, like they are taking castor oil
for their own good! <g>

--
dorayme

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