tables or divs, that is the question

[bcarl314]

Well, just would like to know. Having done sites useing both for layout, I'm interested in what you prefer and why? Me personally, I'm leaning towards tables, mostly because I haven't mastered positioning with DIVs so they adjust based on the screen size. (Arg, have to learn more :P )

It seems that most people here use tables for layout. (Based on the site review requests.) Just wondering.

Thanks for taking the time to read yet another one on my useless posts.

[Nightfire]

I always use tables. I find it so simple to do and get things aligned just how I need them all the time. I feel like I have more control over how things work

[mouse]

DIVs or a combination of the two. A page made fully of tables can get rather bloated in comparison to using CSS.

[justame]

bca...
/me just a prefers® tables...(whispers...welll reallly??? /me just a prefers® hugs...lol...)
n' the reason /me just a prefers® tables is 'cause like night /me can just a lign® things betterer...

n' tends to use div when sayyy something /me wants in the bottom right or left alll on its own outside of the table...aka...created/designed by etc...

"quote...Thanks for taking the time to read yet another one on my useless posts...endquote"
ummm whyyy wouldnt /me??? you just a read® /mes...sooo /me is just a returning® the favour...lol...

[jkd]

Tables wreak havoc on accessibility and were never intended for layout. Tables are meant for displaying tabular data, nothing else, and using them as presentational tools completely defeats the purpose of XHTML.

So, uhh, yeah, I use <div>'s. ;) (And whatever tags are appropriate for structure and accessibility)

[starglow]

I've always used tables but they give me such frustration sometimes I'm thinking divs would be easier

[jkd]

Originally posted by starglow
I've always used tables but they give me such frustration sometimes I'm thinking divs would be easier

Not with IE5.X/Win's (broken) box model. IE6/Win fixes it, but you need an XHTML doctype to trigger the required CSS1Compat mode.

[mouse]

Originally posted by jkd


Not with IE5.X/Win's (broken) box model. IE6/Win fixes it, but you need an XHTML doctype to trigger the required CSS1Compat mode. yeah :D;)

[codewarrior]

Go for DIV!! :thumbsup: Its also help the disabled to read when they are sufring the Net. You can do a lot with Divs.

[gorilla1]

Tables wreak havoc on accessibility

Can you explain what you mean by accessibility? Can someone provide a link to a page which has lots of items in its layout and that is done with divs, as a learning aid?

G

[brothercake]

Remeber this - if you use DIVs for layout, you instantly wave goodbye to legacy browsers. I would say that, for greatest accessibility, tables are your best bet

[allida77]

I agree with BrotherCake, if you are going to make a site for the general public use tables.

[jkd]

Originally posted by gorilla1


Can you explain what you mean by accessibility?

Accessibility as defined by disabled surfers that may use screen-readers, etc.

Read the accessibility guidelines at www.w3.org :).

[mouse]

Originally posted by allida77
I agree with BrotherCake, if you are going to make a site for the general public use tables. But the general public use IE5.5 or higher :confused:

[codewarrior]

Not necessarily! I use NetScape, Opera, IE 6.0, and MSN Explorer to test my sites. :) Don't forget the 800 x 600 resolution with 14" display people! :D

[brothercake]

The site I maintain for my day job gets 5% netscape 3, among other antiquated browsers.

I've never had any accessibility problems with screenreaders or text-only browsers as a result of using table-based layouts (and I really do check :)) Going to a DIV/CSS based layout would be nice - it does process and render more quickly - but as long as supporting netscape 4 / 3 and other such browser is necessary, it isn't an option.

Well not for them anyway ... could do it all in XML and parse it on the server ... but that's more than I have time to learn how to do right now :o