1: Table without headers and id's
Headers are a pain for developers, prone to error, and hard to test. Even an automatic checker can miss mistakes. I was wondering if headers and ids are really necessary on tables with "clean" merged fields, meaning that there is a clear path from the data cell to it's corresponding header, and scope is added.
Example 1
| Exams | Projects | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Final | 1 | 2 | Final | |
| Year 2014 | 15% | 15% | 20% | 10% | 10% | 15% |
| Year 2015 | 20% | 20% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 15% |
Source
<table border="1">
<tr>
<td > </td>
<th colspan="3" scope="col">Exams</th>
<th colspan="3" scope="col">Projects</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="29"> </td>
<th width="29" scope="col">1</th>
<th width="29" scope="col">2</th>
<th width="52" scope="col">Final</th>
<th width="34" scope="col">1</th>
<th width="33" scope="col">2</th>
<th width="46" scope="col">Final</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Year 2014</th>
<td scope="col">15%</td>
<td>15%</td>
<td>20%</td>
<td>10%</td>
<td>10%</td>
<td >15%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Year 2015</th>
<td>20%</td>
<td>20%</td>
<td>10%</td>
<td>15%</td>
<td>20%</td>
<td >15%</td>
</tr>
</table>
Comments
On Windows, providing only scope on the table for AT, the table works without headers and ids. VO doesn't, but VoiceOver doesn't work even with headers and ids (see below). Now if in Example 1, I had put the word year as a col header for those row headers, in cell 1/1 or 1/2 I would have had to use headers/id's, because there is no clean "view" of that header from it's related cells.
Headers and ids are a pain for developers... it seems like in these types of tables they are not necessary.
2: Headers and ID
Example 2
| Homework | Exams | Projects | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Final | 1 | 2 | Final | |
| 15% | 15% | 15% | 20% | 10% | 10% | 15% |
Code for example 2
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th width="73" rowspan="2" id="h">Homework</th>
<th colspan="3" id="e">Exams</th>
<th colspan="3" id="p">Projects</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th width="29" id="e1" headers="e">1</th>
<th width="29" id="e2" headers="e">2</th>
<th width="52" id="ef" headers="e">Final</th>
<th width="34" id="p1" headers="p">1</th>
<th width="33" id="p2" headers="p">2</th>
<th width="46" id="pf" headers="p">Final</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td headers="h">15%</td>
<td headers="e e1">15%</td>
<td headers="e e2">15%</td>
<td headers="e ef">20%</td>
<td headers="p p1">10%</td>
<td headers="p p2">10%</td>
<td headers="p pf">15%</td>
</tr>
</table>
| Bachelor's Degrees | Master's Degrees | Doctor's Degrees | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | Technology | Biology | Technology | Biology | Technology | |||||||
| Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | |
| Totals | 127,385 | 206,168 | 200,707 | 59,975 | 16,748 | 23,526 | 64,726 | 26,629 | 14,607 | 13,435 | 4,638 | 1,217 |
| 2002 | 22,918 | 37,186 | 41,950 | 15,483 | 2,981 | 4,009 | 13,267 | 6,242 | 2,804 | 2,289 | 648 | 168 |
| 2003 | 23,248 | 38,261 | 44,585 | 14,903 | 3,227 | 4,430 | 13,868 | 6,275 | 2,804 | 2,438 | 709 | 200 |
| 2004 | 24,617 | 39,994 | 42,125 | 11,986 | 3,318 | 4,881 | 13,136 | 5,280 | 2,845 | 2,733 | 905 | 214 |
| 2005 | 26,651 | 42,527 | 37,705 | 9,775 | 3,654 | 5,027 | 12,470 | 4,585 | 2,933 | 2,842 | 1,109 | 307 |
| 2006 | 29,951 | 45,200 | 34,342 | 7,828 | 3,568 | 5,179 | 11,985 | 4,247 | 3,221 | 3,133 | 1,267 | 328 |
Data from Institution of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics, derived from two tables: Table 298. Degrees in the biological and biomedical sciences conferred by degree-granting institutions, by level of degree and sex of students; selected years, 1951-52 through 2006-07 and Table 302. Degrees in computer and information sciences conferred by degree-granting institutions, by level of degree and sex of student: 1970–71 through 2006–07.
4: Complex Table
| Studio | Apt | Chalet | Villa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paris |
||||
| 1 bedroom | 11 | 20 | 25 | 23 |
| 2 bedroom | - | 43 | 52 | 32 |
| 3 bedroom | - | 13 | 15 | 40 |
|
Rome |
||||
| 1 bedroom | 13 | 21 | 22 | 3 |
| 2 bedroom | - | 23 | 43 | 30 |
| 3 bedroom | - | 16 | 32 | 40 |