Re: CSS 2.1 'overflow' applicability to table row groups

On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 10:26 AM, Andrew Fedoniouk <
news@terrainformatica.com> wrote:

> Robert O'Callahan wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 9:40 AM, Robert O'Callahan <robert@ocallahan.org<mailto:
>> robert@ocallahan.org>> wrote:
>>
>>    The latest CSS 2.1 draft says that 'overflow' does not apply to
>>    table row groups. However, a lot of Web sites depend on it
>>    applying to table row groups. The spec should be changed to
>>    reflect reality.
>>
>>
>> Sorry. It seems only Gecko supports 'overflow' on table row groups. I
>> assumed IE did too since quite a few people are using it and filing bugs
>> about it. (Seems like every time I post to this list I make a fool of
>> myself!)
>>
>> Still, since people are using it, should we add it to the spec? Or should
>> we remove it from Gecko?
>>
> If you are looking for solution of scrollable tables like here:
> http://www.terrainformatica.com/htmlayout/images/grid1.jpg
> then tbody { overflow: auto} will not help you for the following reasons:
>
> 1) scrollbar has to be a part of the table not tbody. Otherwise widths of
> cells in thead and tbody (with scrollbar)
> will not match. And scrolling in horizontal direction has to scroll thead
> too.


That's definitely a problem. The testcases I've seen tend to use
overflow-x:hidden and overflow-y:auto/scroll so horizontal scrolling doesn't
happen.

2)  Scrollable tbody would require flex length units:  so you can say tbody
> height equal the rest that is left from
> header and footer in table height.
>

Not really a problem, you can do that with tables already.

"since people are using it" - haven't seen such uses to be honest. Any
> links?
>

I don't have links to live sites, only people's testcases. However in
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423823 you can see a bug report
about a Firefox 3 regression related to scrollable table row groups; there
are already five duplicates filed by different people with different
testcases, which means they must all be using it. (And of course there must
be other people using it who don't encounter the background bug or who
haven't tested with Firefox 3 yet or who haven't noticed it or who haven't
reported it or who found an existing bug and refrained from posting a
duplicate...)

Rob
-- 
"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are
healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his
own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." [Isaiah
53:5-6]