Although it's the year 2011 some people are still using <tables> for purposes other than displaying data in an ordered way such as a spreadsheet with multiple columns. I have a feeling this is caused by some infected tutorials which seems to be still out there and maybe even by some ancient books ("what are books daddy?...Dead trees son").
Build a template with <div>'s
Not only is the mark-up much easier to read when using <div>'s but it also separates content (which tables are) from your template. But <div>'s are not always suitable to make a nice form or a multi column address box, without causing divitis (a practise to use more div's than needed). You might agree with that, but that doesn't mean we have to use the extra complexity and unreadability of a tabular design.
Use good styled lists for forms.
A good styled <dd> or <ul>- list is perfect and less chaotic than a form made with tables.
Although this might require you to do some floating, in the end the mark-up will be much easier to read and you need less code also. Check out for instance the nicely made forms from woofoo.
Use tables for data
Now this may sound stupid but if you are going to use tables, use them what they intended for. A nice article on nice tabular design can be found here.
Don't forget to leave a comment :)
cssfreakie
Edit: soon i'll post an article how to use something other than tables for something simple as a media-box (a rectangle with an image and some text) because it seems people also use tables for that.
NEWSFLASH!
Hi guys,
Hopefully you read some fun and helpful stuff here. This blog is mainly aimed at the novice, mediocre and pretending to be advanced css student. If you have comments, questions or anything don't hesitate to post them. If you are completely new to css, you might want to have a look at a free tutorial of a former student of mine, although it's not a book, it should teach you the basics to give you a head-start in building your very own website.
Any ways enjoy your stay guys,
If it's not here maybe on a new blog somewhere with a decent editor. or if you lads are really generous on a commercial website :)
Cheers!
Cssfreakie
Hopefully you read some fun and helpful stuff here. This blog is mainly aimed at the novice, mediocre and pretending to be advanced css student. If you have comments, questions or anything don't hesitate to post them. If you are completely new to css, you might want to have a look at a free tutorial of a former student of mine, although it's not a book, it should teach you the basics to give you a head-start in building your very own website.
Any ways enjoy your stay guys,
If it's not here maybe on a new blog somewhere with a decent editor. or if you lads are really generous on a commercial website :)
Cheers!
Cssfreakie
Something I learned recently is that you need to use tables when designing email newsletter templates.
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