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From: Tim Beadle
Date: Thu, Mar 09 2006 4:40AM
Subject: Re: Flow on web pages thru CSS - your opinion
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On 07/03/06, Catherine Brys < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> I'm investigating web designers' opinions about the current possibilities
> for specifying the flow of content on a web page thru CSS (e.g. thru the
> 'float' property).

Using floating for page layout is itself a hack, as tables for layout
are a hack. Float was intended for pull-quotes, figures and the like,
not for multi-column layouts.
http://www.complexspiral.com/publications/containing-floats/

> I'm not talking about browser implementation issues but any limitations that
> you have encountered in the current positioning model provided by CSS.

Definition-of-terms alert: floating or positioning - which is it?
They're different methods of CSS-based web page layout.

There probably are limitations but, to be honest, I spend so much time
getting stuff to work within the constraints of the specs and the
browser implementations that it's really hard to imagine a perfect
world scenario.

Others are doing it though. A quick search for CSS3 at Andy Budd's (he
of CSS Mastery fame) site:
http://www.andybudd.com/archives/2005/08/internet_explorer_and_the_box_model/
http://www.andybudd.com/archives/2005/10/what_i_want_from_css3_part_1/
http://www.andybudd.com/archives/2006/01/what_i_want_from_css3_part_2/
http://www.andybudd.com/archives/2006/01/what_i_want_from_css3_part_3/

> Are you satisfied with the way you can layout content on a web page?

Not entirely, but I've spent four or five years immersing myself in
CSS layout techniques, hacks and workarounds. After all, you have to
balance the need for stuff not to look broken with the need to write
elegant code.

> Have you encountered any issues when trying to cater for larger font sizes /
> small screen devices?

Yes - small screen devices don't respect the "handheld" CSS media type
and try to play at being desktop browsers.

> Have you found that you had to compromise on layout/flow using the current
> CSS model?

Many times. Many of the designs that I am charged with implementing
(I'm a coder/UI architect, not a graphic designer) have full-width
footers, which normally limits your options for established,
tried-and-tested CSS layouts. The new "holy grail" layout -
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/holygrail - looks good, but I
haven't had a play yet.

I hope that's of some use!

Regards,

Tim