Josefu - 9:12 pm on Feb 3, 2007 (gmt 0)

I was a "div-purist" after I learned the art of css (and overcame its many problems), but I find myself going back to tables in some circumstances. The answer here is: use what works best.

All the same, today I use tables for a most basic page layout skeleton - nothing more. You need three columns that will always remain as long as its longest column, and you don't need "middle column content first for the SE's"? - use a table, it's easiest. If you <i>do</i> need the SE to see that middle content first, div's are better. It all depends on need.

I would suggest that you think out your page layout ahead of time, and think "horizontal lines" - the most difficult thing to align with independant div's - when considering your need for tables or not. Most pages have two horizontal lines that stretch from the extreme left of the page unbroken to the right: one between the header/content, and the second between the content/footer. Of course one could make three expanding full-page width div's and nest the content div's within... in short, tables are the simplest solution for the most basic layout elements that need to expand with content. Yet those willing to work more may opt for div's. It's a question of purpose against perseverence.