W3C on frames?

[jxyama]

i'm trying to completely re-design my homepage and thought it would be a good time to write everything in xhtml/css compliant manner. at this point, it's just a hobby, but i like to do things the "right" way, if possible.

anyway, my question is, what is W3C's stance on use of frames? i know W3C discourages use of tables for formatting purposes - preferring to use CSS instead. i was wondering if use of frames is similarily discouraged and if so, what are some of the alternative ways to using frames?

also, is imagemap a thing of the past?

just trying to get a feel on where things stand...

thanks for any info.

[g808]

If you want to comply with web standards and use frames, then you should use the XHTML 1.0 Frameset (http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#a_dtd_XHTML-1.0-Frameset) DTD (Document Type Definition).

Image maps are thought of as an outdated design method. Most people do not use it today because they are difficult to maintain and present usability and accessbility issues.

FYI...tables are fine to use for tabular data since that is their original purpose. When used as presentational markup (controlling placement of elements), then that is "frowned" upon.

I suggest you pickup a copy of Designing with Web Standards (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0735712018/threesixty-20/).

Couple other articles to get you started with Web Standards:
- Developing with Web Standards (http://www.456bereastreet.com/lab/developing_with_web_standards/)
- A Roadmap to Standards (http://www.mezzoblue.com/archives/2004/04/30/a_roadmap_to/)

[g808]

Forgot to mention that frames are also frowned upon when using in basic web pages since they too present usability and accessibility issues. Frames are more commonly used in web-based applications. here's a short list why frames are not good (http://www.456bereastreet.com/lab/developing_with_web_standards/#accessibility).

[jxyama]

Forgot to mention that frames are also frowned upon when using in basic web pages since they too present usability and accessibility issues. Frames are more commonly used in web-based applications. here's a short list why frames are not good (http://www.456bereastreet.com/lab/developing_with_web_standards/#accessibility).

thanks. an article like that is exactly what i wanted to read!