Topic: Forum Menu Block and... Table Summary

[Chen Zhen]

SMF 2.0 Rc1.2
SP v2.3.1
askusaquestion.net <== Click here to view board.

First of all, would it be possible to request you guys to start using proper form and enter a summary for all tables in pre-fab blocks??

My main concern..

For the pre-fab block for 'Forum Menu' .. for the list containing 'dot' images there are closing action tags prior to the actual 'action'.

It is throwing up warning flags on my HTML/PHP checker.

Thank you.

UD

[Nathaniel]

I have no idea what you mean by "using proper form and enter a summary for all tables in pre-fab blocks??", could you please explain what you mean?

Okay, the </a> tags look like they shouldn't be there. There other display issues with that block (link), I have added that down to be fixed.

[Chen Zhen]

I have no idea what you mean by "using proper form and enter a summary for all tables in pre-fab blocks??", could you please explain what you mean? ...

ie.
Here is a shortened example from one of the portals files:

Code: [Select]

<table class="sp_block">


This should read:

Code: [Select]

<table summary="sp_block1" class="sp_block">


UD

[[SiNaN]]

table tag does not require summary attribute and I don't think we have that complex tables needing a summary attribute.

[Chen Zhen]

table tag does not require summary attribute and I don't think we have that complex tables needing a summary attribute.

I agree - it is not absolutely necessary to have a summary for all tables but imao I find it makes troubleshooting any errors or just finding a certain placement a lot easier.
ie.
If all tables in a php block have a summary attribute let's say..
PortalBlocks.php
and each table was given an attribute in numerical order..
<table summary="spblocks1">
...
<table summary="spblocks2">

... etc. etc.

Whenever there is some sort of error - it is extremely easy to pinpoint the exact file and where to look in that file.

This is just my opinion and it is only a request. I notice that most coders don't bother with it too much (except me?!?) .

UD

[Chen Zhen]

...
Okay, the </a> tags look like they shouldn't be there. There other display issues with that block (link), I have added that down to be fixed.

Thanks.
Getting rid of the closing action tag was easy.. I already took care of it on my forum. However, for mouse-over on some of those menu buttons (admin. and specific user functions) it shows a highlighted display of some of the dot.png's for some reason.
I will have to study it further to find the issue.

UD

[[SiNaN]]

summary attribute is used to describe table, not for debugging PHP which I have no idea how you do that. Developers usually don't require such hacks to find the cause of an issue.

[Chen Zhen]

summary attribute is used to describe table, not for debugging PHP which I have no idea how you do that. Developers usually don't require such hacks to find the cause of an issue.

Well, I don't know what methods most pro developers use.. I'm just someone who used to program in some older languages who decided to dabble in the hobby again.
 Just to explain...
I use a php/html checker as a tool to help pinpoint warnings and errors in code so I can correct them. It usually flags tables without summary attributes as a 'warning' .. not an error but not proper none the less. After putting in these summary attributes for tables, I noticed that whenever an issue occured it was very easy to pinpoint the exact file and location in that file with these summary attributes visible within the page source.
 
UD

[Nathaniel]

Well, using such a tool is one way of doing things.

I tend to use tools such as firebug (firefox addon) to aid in looking at HTML, then the w3c validator is enough to validate a page as valid HTML or not.

Finding a specific template is not particularly difficult, as the SMF template structure is clear, the SP template functions are also clearly separated into different files. Hence there is not much point in having a summary attribute.