css for centering a 'table' in a layout

On 2008-04-14, dorayme <doraymeRidThis (AT) optusnet (DOT) com.au> wrote:

In article <slrng03j9s.bm8.spamspam (AT) bowser (DOT) marioworld>,
Ben C <spamspam (AT) spam (DOT) eggs> wrote:

[...]
Perhaps a better criterion is whether the table layout is part of the
meaning of the data.
[...]
Perhaps it could be usefully said that an html table starts to be
particularly appropriate where the table itself provides information to
the user. How is this possible? By common knowledge and education, most
people know that a table is being presented (clues like borders to
delineate rows and columns, headings and so on all help) and this
knowledge immediately alerts the user that there is a correct way to
read the layout. Read it one way and you get true things, read it
another way and you get false things. There is order and structure. It
is a particularly meaningful thing.

That's what I was trying to say above, although you have put it better.

In article <slrng06265.p4o.spamspam (AT) bowser (DOT) marioworld>,
Ben C <spamspam (AT) spam (DOT) eggs> wrote:

On 2008-04-14, dorayme <doraymeRidThis (AT) optusnet (DOT) com.au> wrote:
In article <slrng03j9s.bm8.spamspam (AT) bowser (DOT) marioworld>,
Ben C <spamspam (AT) spam (DOT) eggs> wrote:

[...]
Perhaps a better criterion is whether the table layout is part of the
meaning of the data.
[...]
Perhaps it could be usefully said that an html table starts to be
particularly appropriate where the table itself provides information to
the user. How is this possible? By common knowledge and education, most
people know that a table is being presented (clues like borders to
delineate rows and columns, headings and so on all help) and this
knowledge immediately alerts the user that there is a correct way to
read the layout. Read it one way and you get true things, read it
another way and you get false things. There is order and structure. It
is a particularly meaningful thing.

That's what I was trying to say above, although you have put it better.

I was in no doubt about the correctness of your observation. I was just
going on and on to make a few other points. Every being has a little
hobbyhorse and agenda! <g>

--
dorayme

On 13 Apr, 05:09, lawp... (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:

Or, let me ask a more general question: Is an html table an
appropriate way to align any set of elements of an HTML page that are
to be in a grid layout?

Yes!

Or is there a pure css way to do a grid-style layout?

No.

To get "grid like" behaviour (the grid relations between cells take
precedence over other size or positioning constraints applied to
cells) you must apply the CSS "table-*" property values and behaviours
to the CSS display property. You can do this most easily by using the
default CSS properties for <table>.

You may also do this by applying these same CSS values to a <div> (or
any suitable element) through a stylesheet. However this isn't
recommended - it's not supported by all browsers, and as it was
originally added to the CSS specification as a means of working with
CSS + XML rather than HTML, there's no pressing need why its support
should ever be extended for HTML in general.