RE: CSS rather than layout tables...

Dear Alan, All, 

To me promoting accessibility under the W3C banner means ensuring that W3C
specifications are properly used (amongst a large range of other things).  

In the HTML 4.01 recommendation it is clear that tables were never intended
to be used for the layout or presentation of content, by the sentence
"Tables should not be used purely as a means to layout document content as
this may present problems when rendering to non-visual media."

With CSS now supported (seemingly, enough to rule out the need to use tables
for layout for a number of browsers [http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/#browsers]
and authoring tools [http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/#editors]), I would suggest
that the time might have come for WAI to state that the use of tables for
layout should be stopped. 

Noting, that a hard line taken against tables for layout might better fit
with the guidance WAI provides for authoring tools through ATAG, in addition
to helping to promote other W3C technologies - "leading the web to its full
potential". 

I would be most interested to hear further thoughts.

Alistair

-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org] On Behalf
Of Alan Chuter
Sent: 21 February 2005 16:38
To: w3c-wai-gl@w3.org
Subject: Re: CSS rather than layout tables...


On the other hand, one could widen the scope of the note to "Once  
authoring tools support style sheet positioning..." Doing do away with  
layout tables assumes that the target page designer can produce them and  
therefore that authoring tools support them reliably (and work around  
browser quirks). I don't think that time has come.

Does WCAG 2.0 consider a base authoring tool?

best regards,

Alan Chuter
Fundosa Teleservicios
achuter@teleservicios.es
Tel. +34 91 1210335




En Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:47:39 +0100, Alistair Garrison  
<alistair.garrison@accessinmind.com> escribió:

> Dear All,
>
>
> In WCAG 1.0 there is a note under Checkpoint 5.3:
>
>
> "
>
<http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505/#until-user-agents#until-
> user-agents> Once user agents support style sheet positioning, tables  
> should
> not be used for layout. Refer
>
<http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505/#tech-style-sheets#tech-s
> tyle-sheets>  also to checkpoint 3.3".
>
>
> Has this time come?
>
>
> Alistair
>
>
> Alistair Garrison
>
> Managing Director
>
> Accessinmind Limited UK Filial
>
>
> Tel.: 0046 8 44 65 287
> Website: http://www.accessinmind.com
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-- 
Alan Chuter
Fundosa Teleservicios
achuter@teleservicios.es
Tel. +34 91 1210335

Received on Monday, 21 February 2005 17:52:35 UTC