[thelist] Tables vs Layers

[aardvark]

> From: Jacob Stetser
>
> Can I ask ONE teeny tiny little question?

sure...

> Why are you SO against XHTML? If you don't want

i'm not... i think it's great, and a few years overdue...
i'm even using it for a few personal projects to get the
hang of it... but i often see its adoption as a function of
trying to stay cutting edge more than developing for the
audience...

for a not-quite-perfect analogy, it's like using all the
latest features of Flash 4, even though you know most of
your users are using Flash 3... yeah, it'll be there when
they upgrade, but why put the time into it now?  why not
wait until the technology and implementation shake
themselves out a little more... especially since Flash 4
doesn't offer that much more...

of course, i *rarely* buy the new version of software
anywhere near as soon as it comes out... i'm wary of
bleeding edge... i know this is a spec, but if no one
supports its advanced features yet (beyond what's
represented in HTML4), then why not do it in HTML?  then
when the browsers are sufficiently advanced to read XHTML,
who knows, maybe you can code it to version 2...

> to use it or don't
> see any benefit, don't use it. But we don't need
> to rehash this
> thread everytime the word XHTML is mentioned.

that's why i suggested people go to the archives, so we
wouldn't have to rehash it...

however, every time it comes up, it's interesting to see
what people have to say...

> In the case of the above post, it's the
> opportunity of the person
> coding the page or setting those standards to
> decide. As long as
> they're not deciding for you, you don't really
> have a concern here.

actually, they are deciding for me, assuming me is the
audience... yes the coder gets to decide, but coders can
also choose to make a 700k splash page, too... does that
mean coder knows that his entire audience uses T1 lines?  or
does that mean the coder doesn't care?

> If you want to, say, suggest HTML 4.x as a target
> because you think
> XHTML is a splinter language and don't want to
> have to deal with the
> splinter, then say so. (I don't know if that's
> the case :))

nup, not the case... i think it's a better language...
especially when parsing from XML, and especially when
teaching good coding styles... just because i question its
appropriateness doesn't mean i think it's a bad idea...

> Some people see benefits to XHTML; you and some
> others don't. That's
> fine. Enough with the 'continuing diatribes' already :)

sure, didn't try to start any, just trying to give my
opinions on 'em... i'm notorious for that...

> So unless we're going to move forward on this
> debate, can we let it go?

actually, i think every time it's been brought up, we have
moved forward... i've seen some great uses of XHTML, and
i've seen some poor uses... i think the adopters have been
given food for thought as well, since my questions always
deal with how its adoption affects the user...