<table> Death

long live the <div>?

[delboy1978uk]

I'm not actually posting a problem here, just want to know what everyone thinks....

It's an old discussion, but I've only just recently started getting 'strict' with my (x)html etc.
As far as I can see:

1) css makes everything great for text formatting
2) css makes everything a nightmare for positioning
3) no align:center; what? why? (and yes i know how to center align with css, its just stupid thats all)
4) liquid layouts are now a complete pain compared to a table
5) mixing fixed width divs with percentages is bad?

Is it bad form to use tables now?

i dont want to ditch something that works (and works well), for crap that looks different on different browsers :-(

anyway, rant over, feel free to continue where i left off!
(or put me right, either way)

[lavazza]

i dont want to ditch something that works (and works well)

Tables are perfect!

(For tabular data)

crap that looks different on different browsers :-(

Maybe you have a point... If you're only concerned with displaying your content on one or a few browsers then a rigid layout might be ideal

However, if you're considering a variety of media types (see [w3.org...] you might be interested in a more flexible approach

YMMV

[SuzyUK]

you haven't had your "light bulb moment" yet have you :)

prosecution:
try listening to your web page with a table layout, if your sites are all data related then it will be fine, if it's just a table in order to have a fancy liquid sliced graphic layout/design then it might be unusable to anyone wanting to view/read it any other way than on a large screen monitor.. so if that's OK with you again it's your choice.

defence:

css makes everything a nightmare for positioning

Have you tried positioning anything inside a table? ;)

It's not necessarily bad form, it's a necessary informed choice which to use - IMHO of course

[vordmeister]

I made the decision to use a one row, 2 column table for the second 2 columns on a new site. The reason for that was to control the behaviour of the RH column in small browser sizes.

I try avoid the use of tables - CSS is normally more tidy. But I quite often find the options for layout behaviour restrictive with CSS when I don't want overlap, bits of page plunging below the fold on browser width change.

When I see a site developed by someone who has seen the lightbulb I'll copy it. Based on every other site I've seen and the CSS specs I'll use tables for layout occasionally.