Re: [Phpwebsite-developers] Development Questions

[Brian W. B. <br...@tu...>]

In response to Neal's Questions:

> Why is the transitional version of XHTML used rather than the strict?

A little history is in order here. When we first started working on
phpWebSite, XHTML was still a W3C Candidate Recommendation. We opted to
use XHTML Transitional because we felt that XHTML (in general) was the
technically intelligent approach to using the Web, but at the time XHTML
was very new. There is a reason the W3C releases "Transitional"
specifications to aid, um... transitions.

> Most the table tags could be replaced by <div> tags and the CSS could be
> what is effected by the templates. If development is going in this
> direction, I would be happy to help with the coding to get there.

I have long been an opponent of using tables for layout. The fundamental
concept of markup is to identify a documents *structure*. That being said,
phpWebSite will continue to use tables where the data presented is
"tabular" in nature. Not doing so is as crazy as using table tricks for
layout. One should also keep in mind that we still must make compromises
to allow for old browsers and browser incompatibilities with CSS. I wish
the browser landscape was more friendly, but in reality it is not.

> Keeping this project in beta status? What features still need testing or
> development?

One of the hallmarks of open source software is the way that it evolves.
As we have developed phpWebSite the software and the needs it addresses
have both seen remarkable change. We are approaching a final version, but
this long evolutionary process has helped to insure that we will
ultimately produce an outstanding work. In short, we do not feel it is
"done" and won't call it 1.0.0 until we feel satisfied with every aspect
of phpWebSite.

Kind Regards,
Brian W. Brown
phpWebSite Project Manager

--
Brian W. Brown
Director, Electronic Student Services
Room 269, John Thomas Hall
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608

vox: 828-262-7124

http://ess.appstate.edu/
http://phpwebsite.appstate.edu/