Re: Teaching HTML & CSS to 15-year-olds - advice sought

On Sun, 4 Dec 2005, D.M. Procida wrote:

> These "required bits" include: "control buttons",

Gibber. The <button> element is implemented totally wrongly in MSIE,
and consequently, I'd say, should be avoided in any practical project
for the WWW.

Or do these folk have no idea what a <button> is, but have some other
concept which they are calling a "control button"? There's no such
thing as a "control button" in the HTML spec, as far as I can tell.
See http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/interact/forms.html#h-17.2.1 etc.

But a <button> *is* a "control". As indeed are <input type="button">
(which is of use only with client-side scripting, "which in our case
we have not got"), and as, indeed, are the "submit" and "reset" input
types (both also loosely referred to as "buttons").

However, what would be the point of having form controls, when you say
there is no server, and therefore nothing which could evaluate form
submissions? It makes no sense.

Is it part of their plan to set the instructors such riddles? Maybe
the author's name is Rumpelstiltskin...

> "hot spots to link pages"

Sounds like an imagemap. Not a good idea for beginners. And we're
due to have the "alt text" argument over again, in spades, when <area>
elements are used.

> (one of which must be "button", as opposed to "graphic" and
> "textual"), and "sound".

Eh? If you're quoting this word for word, then either they're raving,
or I am. Is there no chance of sending them on a course before they
write this incomprehensible stuff?

> What is a control button in a web page? A hot spot? A button hot
> spot? This is all horrible madness...

I can sympathise with your frustration!
.

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