Re: CSS positioning (Re: colours for bullets)

David Perrell wrote:
> Toggleable flow-around wouldn't solve my requirement that the table be
> positioned relative to a word or phrase within a paragraph. It seems
> the only two possibilities for that are to allow tables within
> paragraphs or allow tables inside another element that can be within
> paragraphs.

I think the entire problem here is the one Gavin alluded to.  The
document structure and the rendering do not have to be one to one
related.  For example,  I definitely format floating tables the way
you've described,  but the document structure still has a para,  a table
(not contained in the para) and some following text.  That's the
document structure.  The rendering structure has a para with a floating
element pointer in it and the table is held separately.  The two just
aren't related.  And in fact I have a current "bug" because the floating
table forces a paragraph break.

The problem is that for the rendering to be standard you need a way to
define "the way" that all user agents format such things.  This is
certainly problematic,  and I'm not sure I see how it can be done
declaratively in CSS.  Maybe I'm starting to see the justification for
DSSSL after all.  

What we could do is make a statement that floating elements force the
user agent to act "as if" they hadn't been in the flow after all.  We
could even codify where they float including the behavior where if
they're first on the line they align with the top of the line,  and
otherwise with the bottom of the line.  But it'll be a hack.

Doug
-- 
Doug Rand				drand@sgi.com
Silicon Graphics/Silicon Desktop	http://reality.sgi.com/drand
Disclaimer: These are my views,  SGI's views are in 3D

Received on Wednesday, 16 April 1997 09:58:57 UTC