Hey everyone! I've been diving into HTML and CSS for about a month now, and I remember learning about tables in HTML. However, my friend, who's a full stack web developer, mentioned that I might not need to focus on them since they're not as commonly used anymore. He suggested that I could always learn about tables when I actually need them. That said, I'm currently watching a video in my CSS course about how to style tables and make them visually appealing. So, I'm curious: are HTML tables still relevant enough to warrant learning, or can I skip that for now? Thanks in advance for your input!
6 Answers
It really depends on your use case! Tables are still widely used for displaying actual tabular data, like spreadsheets or statistics. But you should avoid using them for layout purposes since CSS has much better tools for that. So yeah, if you're dealing with real data, definitely learn tables!
Back in the day, tables were everywhere for page layouts, but now we prefer using divs along with CSS Layouts like Grid and Flexbox. Tables are still great for displaying data though, so you might want to know them if that’s the kind of work you’ll be doing.
Those were the days, weren't they?
While tables aren't as popular for layout as they once were, they’re still used in specific scenarios, especially for emails. If you want to build a solid foundation, it wouldn't hurt to learn about them, even if their role has shifted.
CSS Grid has pretty much taken over the need for tables unless you're specifically dealing with data representation. If you're familiar with HTML already, learning about tables won't take you long at all—maybe just a few hours!
One advantage of tables is that they have built-in accessibility features that div layouts lack. If you’re displaying data that logically fits a table, they can be an excellent choice!
We use tables a lot at work for displaying tons of information in a clear format. Your friend might be mixing them up with layout tables, which we definitely don't need anymore. So yes, tables are still relevant for data presentation!
Thanks, that's a helpful perspective!