- From: Michele Diodati <michele@diodati.org>
- Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2003 18:54:21 +0200
- To: <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
This is a little contribution to point out the difference between data and layout tables. A data table is a table in which you can't alter the position of a cell in a column or in a row without altering data consistency. For example, if you have a two column table in which the first column contains people's names and the second column contains their telephone numbers, you can't move the content of a cell up or down in the second column without destroying the relationship between at least two names and two numbers. The same rule applies to data headers: in the foregoing example I can't invert "names" header with "telephone numbers" header at the top of the table without destroying consistency between headers and data in the table. On the contrary, a layout table is a table in which you *can* modify the position of a cell in a column or in a row without altering data consistency. Doing so, you only alter the appearance of the page. For example, if you have a three column/one row layout table, in which the first column contains the site menu, the second column contains a list of abstracts from the last articles published on the site and the third column contains some links to other sites, you can freely invert the position of the three cells without altering data consistency: the list of abstracts will remain meaningful wether you put it on the left, on the center or on the right. Perhaps you may summarize this difference saying that a layout table is a table in which you can't use properly CAPTION and TH elements. All the best, Michele Diodati ------------------------ http://www.diodati.org ------------------------
Received on Tuesday, 3 June 2003 12:54:31 UTC