[thelist] why doth i hate css? let me count the ways.

Mike Migurski mike-evolt at teczno.com
Fri Oct 10 15:35:24 CDT 2003


<snip>
>It would be simple enough if I could specify, somehow, that both the
>right-hand panel and the left-hand panel are the same height as their
>container, which should be the body.
>
>With tables this design is a no-brainer.... one table, 100% height, spacer
>column between the navigation and content cells, etc.  Too easy.  But with
>css... I don't know if it's possible.
>
>Thoughts?

Just use a table.

I know that's an unpopular answer, but really - why not use a tool that
works? Tables are good for a few layout tasks, such as traditional
grid-based designs that are in common use by most print designers. CSS is
good for others, like liquid layouts that flex in response to changing
browser conditions (text size, window size, etc.)

CSS is a tremendously elegant response to the flexible presentation
context that is the interweb, but CSS is terrible for grids. It's not
designed for them, even though graphic design has relied on the grid since
the Book Of Kells.

Tables are, last I checked, still a completely valid part of XHTML.

They can be used sparingly and intelligently to create a skeletal grid for
a site -- in your case, two cells -- and then augmented with styled
elements without compromising strict validity or semantic coherence.

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