Comparing CSS and HTML Essay examples -- Compare Contrast Comparison E

Comparing CSS and HTML Technologies advance so quickly that it seems no sooner has one technology become widely accepted than it is replaced by something newer and superior. Technologies in the field of web design are no exception. As web-related hardware and software components became faster, more reliable, and easier to use, the web exploded with new websites which led to a dramatic increase in web usage around the world. But as web designers and audiences well know, the web is still in great need of improvement. Long load times, inconsistent page rendering, and a myriad of other problems plague the web, creating no end of hassle and frustration. However, an emerging technology, cascading style sheets, could eliminate many of the web's largest problems by replacing the primary language of the web, the Hypertext Markup Language (or HTML). HTML does not function well as a webpage design language, and it was never meant to. It was originally intended for use as a language that contained very simple content for the page, but it was not supposed to greatly affect its appearance (Rotter, Web). However, when HTML's potential for defining the layout and appearance of web pages was discovered, web developers started to invent new HTML code for these purposes. "The result?" writes Steve Mulder in an article for Adobe, "A mess. HTML has been hijacked from its original mission, and we're still not getting the presentational control that we want. Plus, it's a pain to force HTML to do presentation." What is the cause of HTML's problems, though? The vast majority stem from HTML tables, which are used to control webpage layout. Tables in HTML are similar to tables in most computer applications. They consist of one or more ... ... May 2001. Jupitermedia. 19 Nov. 2003 <http://wdvl.internet.com/Authoring/Style/Sheets/Positioning/Toss/>. Mulder, Steve. Style Sheets: Why Should I Care? n.d. Adobe Systems. 19 Nov. 2003 <http://www.adobe.co.uk/web/features/css/main.html>. New Feature Highlights. 5 Sep 2003 . Adobe systems. 30 Nov. 2003 <http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/golive/pdfs/golive_nfhs.pdf>. "New Features of Cascading Style Sheets in Dreamweaver MX." Dreamweaver TechNote. 24 Sept. 2002 . Macromedia. 19 Nov. 2003 <http://www.macromedia.com/support/dreamweaver/ts/ documents/cssmx.htm>. (now unavailable. Try this link for comparable information: http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/productinfo/features/static_tour/css/) Web Standards (XHTML and CSS). n.d. Slantwise Design. 19 Nov. 2003 <http://www.slantwisedesign.com/standards.html>. (may be unavailable)