W3C CSS2 Cascading Style Sheets, level 2 - instructional media + ...

Contents
17 Tables
17.1 Introduction to tables . . . . . . . . . . . 245 .
17.2 The CSS table model . . . . . . . . . . . 247 .
17.2.1 Anonymous table objects . . . . . . . . . 248 .
17.3 Column selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 .
17.4 Tables in the visual formatting model . . . . . . . 250 .
17.4.1 Caption position and alignment . . . . . . . 251 .
17.5 Visual layout of table contents . . . . . . . . . 253 .
17.5.1 Table layers and transparency . . . . . . . 254 .
17.5.2 Table width algorithms: the ’table-layout’ property . . . 256 .
Fixed table layout . . . . . . . . . . . 257 .
Automatic table layout . . . . . . . . . . 257 .
17.5.3 Table height algorithms . . . . . . . . . 258 .
17.5.4 Horizontal alignment in a column . . . . . . . 260 .
17.5.5 Dynamic row and column effects . . . . . . . 261 .
17.6 Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 .
17.6.1 The separated borders model . . . . . . . . 261 .
Borders around empty cells: the ’empty-cells’ property . . 262 .
17.6.2 The collapsing border model . . . . . . . . 263 .
Border conflict resolution . . . . . . . . . 264 .
17.6.3 Border styles . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 .
17.7 Audio rendering of tables . . . . . . . . . . 267 .
17.7.1 Speaking headers: the ’speak-header’ property . . . 267 .
17.1 Introduction to tables
Tables represent relationships between data. Authors specify these relationships
in the document language [p. 30] and specify their presentation in CSS, in two
ways: visually and aurally.
Authors may specify the visual formatting of a table as a rectangular grid of
cells. Rows and columns of cells may be organized into row groups and column
groups. Rows, columns, row groups, row columns, and cells may have borders
drawn around them (there are two border models in CSS2). Authors may align
data vertically or horizontally within a cell and align data in all cells of a row or
column.
Authors may also specify the aural rendering of a table; how headers and data
will be spoken. In the document language, authors may label cells and groups of
cells so that when rendered aurally, cell headers are spoken before cell data. In
effect, this "serializes" the table: users browsing the table aurally hear a
sequence of headers followed by data.
245