RE: New draft: multi-column

Manos M. Batsis writes:
> 
> Ok I'm very excited about the proposed functionality but i would like to contribute my
> humble thoughts. The multi-column layout should be used to solve web layout problems with
> efficiency as well as typography ones.
> This module works great from the typographic point of view, but we are not typographers! I
> don't really care so much about column styling (although i really find it revolutionary) i
> care about column content.
> Since "Each column is a box", why shouldn't we have the ability of defining it's content to
> make something like this:
> 
> 
> symbol         closing         difference    %
> BVL 30       4.970,46        -11,01        -0,22
> DJ-INDS    10.587,59        -90,69        -0,85
> FFT-DAX     6.651,53         15,77         0,24
> HANG        15.933,55       404,80        2,61
> NAS            2.770,38          1,89         0,07
> NIKKEI      13.989,12       115,20         0,83
> 
> But without using tables.

This is clearly a table in terms of semantics and I don't see much
reason not to use a table in the source.

It is certainly not a text in four columns: if it was, it should be
possible to put the same text in any other number of columns,
including a single column, without change of meaning.

If you don't want to use tables, then I can offer two other ideas:
using floats (this works now), using tabs ("light-weight
tables"). The latter is an old idea of mine that so far has not seen
much support. (See also "Leaders"[1] and "Smart tabs"[2])

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-CSS-potential#id06251190921
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-CSS-potential#id1554439764


With floats:

    <style type="text/css">
      p.column {float: left; width: 25%}
    </style>
    ...

    <p class=column>
    symbol<br>
    BVL 30<br>
    ...

    <p class=column>
    closing<br>
    4.970,46<br>
    ...

With tabs:

    <style type="text/css">
      span.symbol {tab: left 0}
      span.closing {tab: right 50%}
      span.difference {tab: right 75%}
      span.percent {tab: right 100%}
    </style>
    ...
    <p>
    <span class=symbol>symbol</span> <span class=closing>closing</span>...
    <span class=symbol>BVL 30</span> <span class=closing>4.970,46</span>...
    ...


> I bet that would make my code a lot clearer. Hey! This would be possible with something
> like:
> 
> 	<P STYLE="border: solid black 1px
> 	padding: 3px;
> 	column-count: 1;
> 	column-rule: solid black 1px;
> 	column-gap: 10px;">
> 	symbol
> 	BVL 30
> 	FFT-DAX
> 	HANG
> 	NAS
> 	NIKKEI
> 	</P>
> 
> 	<P STYLE="border: solid black 1px
> 	padding: 3px;
> 	column-count: 1;
> 	column-rule: solid black 1px;
> 	column-gap: 10px;">
> 	closing
> 	 4.970,46
> 	10.587,59
> 	 6.651,53
> 	15.933,55
> 	 2.770,38
> 	13.989,12
> 	</P>
> 
> 
> ...end so on.
> will this be possible without getting too complex with positioning? And what about
> alignment?



Bert
-- 
  Bert Bos                                ( W 3 C ) http://www.w3.org/
  http://www.w3.org/people/bos/                              W3C/INRIA
  bert@w3.org                             2004 Rt des Lucioles / BP 93
  +33 (0)4 92 38 76 92            06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France

Received on Monday, 22 January 2001 09:20:10 UTC