

The Mystery Of The CSS Float Property - cwan
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/10/19/the-mystery-of-css-float-property/

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zepolen
While this is a good overview of the css float property, I just hate that they
specify its usage for the 3-column layout; that's not what it was intended
for.

Almost every time someone calls css 'terrible for layout' it's because they
are trying to emulate the old table or print style layouts, these however have
the ability to make a very serious assumption, that they will be put on a
fixed size medium.

On the web however, there is _no_ fixed medium, that 'holy grail' 3 column
layout fails in this respect, if you for example decrease the browser width,
it will squash everything inside the elements rather than do what a float was
supposed to solve, ie. as an element is too wide for its container, float
underneath.

Take the HN header for example. It is a table, which means that as you
decrease the width of the browser, the login/username on the right squashes
the menu buttons.

With good float design, ie. float right the username, float left the menu
buttons and the logo, then these would all float under each other in an easier
to follow layout.

