Posted by Harlan Messinger on 01/23/96 11:42

Martin Underwood wrote:
> Next wrote in
> 1142354536.224320.60080@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com:
>
>
>>Years ago, it occurred to me that a lot of the trouble
>>of writing web browsers is caused by the upside-down
>>arrangement of things: Javascript code exists inside
>>a document, when really it should be the other way around.
>>And yet, although this seems fairly obvious to me,
>>having tried myself to write a web browser and given up,
>>I don't see a lot of movement by major web browser
>>projects in a direction that might TRULY fix the problem.
>>I do see a few slow-moving projects: HTML5 and Web Applications.
>
> I think the bigger issue with HTML and browser design is that it only
> supplies *hints* and *suggestions* as to the formatting, rather than making
> all browsers display a page with identical formatting, as PDF does. It would
> be so much easier as the designer of a site if you could be confident that
> everyone would see the same view of the page without the line breaks and
> table column widths being variable under user control.

HTML is simply not meant to be a page layout language. It's a document
markup language, and presentation is meant to be secondary. There's
normally no reason why a document needs to be displayed in a single
fixed format, and if you try, you make life difficult or impossible for
a large percentage of your audience.

> Let users have a zoom
> control (as for Acrobat Reader) it they need larger print but don't let them
> change the font size independent of all other objects on the page; let the
> site author retain full control over all other aspects of formatting,
> typography etc.

Then provide PDFs and forget about HTML. If you want to use screws
instead of nails, then use a screwdriver rather than calling the hammer
deficient. Doesn't that make sense?

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