[thelist] Radio button tab problem

Joshua Olson joshua at waetech.com
Wed Jul 30 20:55:35 CDT 2003


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Aylard" <evolt at pixelwright.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 5:41 PM


> causes more problems than it solves. The level of complexity you
suggest --
> and the reliance on scripting to "correct" the browser's default
behavior --
> imo, far outweigh any benefits to this approach. I don't criticize the
> attempt, per se, but I strongly discourage implementing it.

James,

Bravo, I agree with you 100%.  However, as a technical challenge I
definitely agree at least _trying_ a solution to see if one can be found.

Users are indeed strange creatures.

>     I am a long-time advocate of the "exception" principle in web
> development, and roll my eyes any time someone argues that you should
> "never" implement a certain technology or approach. But likewise, I always
> argue that exceptions should only be implemented when there is a clear
> benefit to doing so that is difficult or impossible to achieve in a less
> "exceptional" way, and only when the developer clearly understands the
> possible side-effects. And I think a developer would be hard-pressed to
> justify implementing the approach that you outline simply out of personal
> discontent with the default behavior of the browser.

Agree, again.  I love trying to make technology bend to my will, though
often enough it makes better sense to just let it be.

Case in point, I did implement this approach:

http://concepts.waetech.com/tabable_radios

A couple things became obvious:

1.  Without JavaScript it was now possible to click multiple radio buttons
within a group.
2.  Without JavaScript the server-side processing had a harder time sorting
out which radio button was actually clicked.
3.  With JavaScript, it worked beautifully.

Have I broken the minimalist philosophy of "don't change the default
behavior"... yes I have.  Do I mind doing that as a test of concept... nope.
Would I discourage a client from insisting on this peculiar behavior... of
course.

<><><><><><><><><><>
Joshua Olson
Web Application Engineer
WAE Tech Inc.
http://www.waetech.com
706.210.0168



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