Though quite technical but....
Points to know while you work in a team for a web based product
Yesterday, I got some insights on standards to follow when we design a website or a web portal. Out of my limited memory, I am putting few of those here for our reference whenever needed.
Why do we need a "div" based web development rather than the old fashioned "table" based one?
We might want to say that in the present context when websites are becoming more and more dynamic with a variety of media, the "table" based approach falls short. Dynamism with faster download time can be well achieved by using "divs" rather than "tables" due to one or other of the following:
a) The "table" being a nested approach adds a lot of code behind a web interface. A nested approach involves using few elements of code again and again. This ultimately results in web interfaces with heavy code file and eventually a large download time at the browser end.
b) Also, it has been noticed that different browsers react to "tables" in many different ways. The way a browser application like Mozilla Fire fox downloads a web code with too many of "tables" widely differs from the way it can download the same web code written using a "div". In the former case, it is more a large bunch download which might result in nothing on a user's screen in an event of internet going off for any reasons while during download. While in the later case when a code is written using "div", it is more a smaller packet download (but many in number) and would ensure that at least a portion of the website is visible on a user's screen even when internet goes off accidentally.
c)Third and the most known fact, quite contrary to "tables", a web code with "div" support "CSS based styles". It lessens the code length, ensures a better consistency through out the interface and makes the code a bit comprehensible for "designers" too :)
d) Also, to comply to different usability and accessibility norms, we should check using section 508 evaluator. Using "jaws" can also help you in testing your product for specific requirements of people with blindness.
So, enjoy and add value to your products. Add your comments and suggest corrections if I am wrong somewhere. Kothari, I am looking forward to you for further additions not as links but as written text here :) if needed and so as Damera.
Credits: Dr G Dalvi, IDC IIT Mumbai
Yesterday, I got some insights on standards to follow when we design a website or a web portal. Out of my limited memory, I am putting few of those here for our reference whenever needed.
Why do we need a "div" based web development rather than the old fashioned "table" based one?
We might want to say that in the present context when websites are becoming more and more dynamic with a variety of media, the "table" based approach falls short. Dynamism with faster download time can be well achieved by using "divs" rather than "tables" due to one or other of the following:
a) The "table" being a nested approach adds a lot of code behind a web interface. A nested approach involves using few elements of code again and again. This ultimately results in web interfaces with heavy code file and eventually a large download time at the browser end.
b) Also, it has been noticed that different browsers react to "tables" in many different ways. The way a browser application like Mozilla Fire fox downloads a web code with too many of "tables" widely differs from the way it can download the same web code written using a "div". In the former case, it is more a large bunch download which might result in nothing on a user's screen in an event of internet going off for any reasons while during download. While in the later case when a code is written using "div", it is more a smaller packet download (but many in number) and would ensure that at least a portion of the website is visible on a user's screen even when internet goes off accidentally.
c)Third and the most known fact, quite contrary to "tables", a web code with "div" support "CSS based styles". It lessens the code length, ensures a better consistency through out the interface and makes the code a bit comprehensible for "designers" too :)
d) Also, to comply to different usability and accessibility norms, we should check using section 508 evaluator. Using "jaws" can also help you in testing your product for specific requirements of people with blindness.
So, enjoy and add value to your products. Add your comments and suggest corrections if I am wrong somewhere. Kothari, I am looking forward to you for further additions not as links but as written text here :) if needed and so as Damera.
Credits: Dr G Dalvi, IDC IIT Mumbai
Labels: acccessibilty requirements, CSS, DIV, mashup Web 2.0, table, web design
posted by About Abhishek at 10:53 PM
3 Comments:
hehe.. Abhishek, you have very accurately summarized advantages of DIV over Table.
From whatever little experience I have in coding, there are situations when it gets very difficult to use just DIVs for a particular layout. One has to use Tables alongwith Divs to achieve exact layout.
Saw this really late...
I am currently taking a web technologies course and I am very comfortable with doing my layouts with divs I write the code I dont use dreamweaver so its so much easier to do it with div to move things around or change anything. To start with the float concepts in div could be lil hard but once u get that its awesome. Also do look at yahoo grid builder... it works for some layouts though not all...
here is a great tutorial to learn how to do layout with divs (CSS) http://www.subcide.com/tutorials/csslayout/index.aspx
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