Re: [Phpwebsite-developers] Re: phpWebSite face lift

[Shaun M. <sh...@ae...>]

On 27 Feb 2006, at 13:21, Matthew McNaney wrote:

> On Mon, 2006-02-27 at 09:36 +0100, Michael H. Rasmussen wrote:
>> Too much to copy :)
>
> Table forms:
> I do this as well. In Fallout there is a class called form-table. The
> labels for the form elements are class="label".

If you're using a table though, why not use th and td as the label  
and value pair?

We're pretty inconsistent with using th for table headers. I've been  
generally putting them in where I can and losing the bold tags. In  
theory we could lose the class="bg_medium" and style the th more but  
that will break compatibility.

>
> I prefer the left / right approach. I know some people prefer title  
> top
> and form bottom. Unfortunately, the table format makes the former  
> easier
> and the latter almost impossible.
>

True. Although I quite like definition lists for this purpose where  
the form is a pair of label/value. It falls apart when you've got  
something like menuman though. See http://www.clagnut.com/blog/241/

There's also the semantically correct way of using label and fieldset  
but that's possibly an issue with some old browsers still. See http:// 
www.themaninblue.com/writing/perspective/2004/03/24/


> We'll see how it pans out. I see from where both Shaun and Michael are
> coming. Shaun wants to ensure backward compatibility. Michael wants
> consistent form. You are both right. There is a balance between  
> pleasing
> and annoying the user after an update. Ensure that balance tips  
> towards
> the positive.
>

Actually, I'm kind of leaning towards some breaks if we can introduce  
semantic consistent layout.


> I don't suggest inline style but phpwebsite 0.10.x is kinda weak in  
> this
> regard. You can't be sure people will adopt new classes in their style
> sheets and you don't want their view to radically change.

I think we might get away with some visual breakage if we have a  
defined set of classes we use that people can quickly fix. It'd be a  
pity not to at this point.

>
> Something I would like as a result of this discussion is a  
> consensus of
> what Fallout should contain. I want a set of persistent styles that
> developers can count on. Like Michael mentioned, I would like to see
> Fallout ship with a theme set that can be edited some what like the
> ZenGarden site.
>

 From the other side, trying to get consistent element building into  
the code would also be useful going ahead. We can identify where we  
have problems applying a consistent look now because of module  
developers inconsistent UI design. And hopefully functions can be put  
in place to build things like menus, forms and lists so that module  
developers don't have to reinvent.


Shaun
aegis design - http://www.aegisdesign.co.uk
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