RE: Proposal for non-normative example section (Was: RE: How is it possible to devise such a feeble system?)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jesse McCarthy
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 1:54 PM
> Subject: Re:Proposal for non-normative example section (Was: 
> RE: How is it possible to devise such a feeble system?)
> 
> 
> "Jeffrey Yasskin" <jyasskin@hotmail.com> wrote on 10/24/01 2:38:55 PM:
> >
> >So nobody really understands the spec, even on this list. 
> How much less 
> >likely is it that a beginning developer will understand it?
> >
> >There should be a non-normative section of CSS3 (and CSS2.1) giving 
> >techniques for table-less layouts. Two important cases are: the one 
> >discussed here, centering stuff vertically and horizontally; 
> and 2- and 
> >3-column-based layouts. Then the editors of CSS will be able to see 
> >whether CSS is a feasible replacement for tables. If CSS 
> requires much 
> >more code or harder-to-read code than a table-based layout, 
> CSS needs 
> >to be reconsidered.
> >
> >Jeffrey Yasskin
> 
> I understand the spec, Jeffrey.  I understand completely that 
> CSS 2 fails to provide a mechanism to perform the kind of 
> vertical centering I have described.  What I _don't_ 
> understand is _why_ it doesn't.

Sorry. My statement was too broad. What I meant was that if the spec's
meaning is up for discussion even on this list, novice developers can't
possibly be expected to understand it or use it correctly.

My proposal was a way to clarify the practical use of the spec. A useful
side-effect will be that these kinds of omissions will be caught before
the spec becomes a recommendation since the authors will have to
actually use the spec before accepting it.

Jeffrey Yasskin

Received on Wednesday, 24 October 2001 15:45:38 UTC