Sent by David Leader on 17 August 2004 23:11
I'd like, if I may, to interrupt the list's incessant 'why doesn't
this css work with this browser' and raise the question of why css is
so limited, and whether there is any prospect of it being improved in
the foreseeable future.
I'd often wondered why css-only pages were generally such boring
single column affairs, scrolling into the sunset leaving the menu
behind, until I tried to implement in css something that would have
been a cinch in tables. This was to have two columns of equal height.
I found a site that addressed this question specifically -
<http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=AnyColumnLongest> - but was
appalled at what awful hacks were needed to achieve this in pure css.
Leaving aside the browser hacks (which one could blame on the
browsers, although I do wonder about the complexity of css if the
browser constructors screw up so often) it seems that one can only
achieve this by doing things like overlaying one div with another and
faking a background with a wide border.
This reminds me of the old saying about seeing elephants dancing:
"It's not very pretty, the elephant doesn't much like it, the only
wonder is that it's possible at all."
As it was, I had good reason not to use tables, and I managed to
solve the problem with some serviceable (if not perfect) Javascript:
<http://www.q7design.demon.co.uk/ColumnBalance.html> .
But let's not kid ourselves, if css doesn't develop to accommodate
this sort of simple design task it will remain the web backwater I'm
afraid it currently is. Anyone know what's happening here?
David
PS.
"What about people that have javascript turned off?" I hear some
tedious individual ask. Simple, they are in the same situation as
people who have their browsers turned off. Next question?
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