divs, divs, divs

[questionable]

Hello all,

Even though I've been programming a while I still have no idea what <div> does. I'm sure I could have used them but I never learned what they do. So what do they do? What are the benefits of using them?

-questionable

[orcrist]

its a division, basic block element

[_Aerospace_Eng_]

Think of a div as a box. When designing layouts without tables divs are the main building blocks used. They are styled with CSS. Because a div is a block level element it creates its own line break unless it is floated, or absolutely positioned. Check out the layouts here. http://bonrouge.com/3c-hf-fluid.php
They are all done with divs and other elements along with CSS. Note there ARE no tables in those layouts. Another good site to check out is www.csszengarden.com look at the source code there and browser around the different designs. Notice the source code never changes. http://www.codingforums.com/showthread.php?t=23475 is a good thread about sites that don't use tables for web design.