Table based layout… “it just works”

For any web developers out there who long for the good old days of table-based layout stuffed full of transparent GIF spacers – here’s a reality check from an old website I wrote back in my ASP* days…

browser = ucase(request.servervariables ("HTTP_USER_AGENT"))

inputwidth = "24"
textareawidth = "26"
fontsize = "9pt"
displayfontsize = "24pt"

if left(browser,12) = "MOZILLA/4.08"
or left(browser,12) = "MOZILLA/4.73" then
	inputwidth = "12"
	textareawidth = "12"
	fontsize = "9pt"
	displayfontsize = "24pt"
end if

if (left(browser,12) = "MOZILLA/4.73"
or left(browser,11) = "MOZILLA/4.0"
or left(browser,12) = "MOZILLA/4.61")
and right(browser,4) = "PPC)" then
	inputwidth = "24"
	textareawidth = "20"
	fontsize = "12pt"
	displayfontsize = "32pt"
end if

if left(browser,12) = "MOZILLA/4.61"
and right(browser,4) = "PPC)" then
	inputwidth = "24"
	textareawidth = "20"
	fontsize = "12pt"
	displayfontsize = "32pt"
end if

if left(browser,16) = "MOZILLA/4.0 (COM"
and right(browser,17) = "5.0; MAC_POWERPC)" then
	inputwidth = "29"
	textareawidth = "26"
	fontsize = "9pt"
	displayfontsize = "24pt"
end if

if left(browser,16) = "MOZILLA/4.0 (COM"
and right(browser,17) = "4.5; MAC_POWERPC)" then
	inputwidth = "17"
	textareawidth = "15"
	fontsize = "12pt"
	displayfontsize = "32pt"
end if

From the same site code I’m also finding the following gems:

• MMMMMMacromedia inline JavaScript – onMouseOut="MM_swapImgRestore();MM_displayStatusMsg('');return document.MM_returnValue"
• Weird indenting due to white-space randomly screwing up the layout.
• Quite a few of these <br>&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;

Yummy.

* ASP not ASP.NET – .NET didn’t even exist so I refuse to call it ASP Classic.

• CSS1
• Internet Explorer for Mac
• Netscape Navigator