break tag

Hi,
I know this is a really basic question but I am a total beginner.

Is it ok to use the break tag in strict XHTML with the new standards and if so is there a space between the br and the /? ie <br/> or <br /> or maybe something else entirely? Should I use paragraphs instead?

Sorry its so basic.

No worries

If you've got text, use the <p> tags. I only use <br /> if I want something to break for a single line. For example:

1020 West Point Dr.
Omaha, NE 57105
United States

For that... I would use <br />. Just about anything else I use <p>.

But you wrap it in <address> element tho right Ryan

Agreed, I always use <br /> for line breaks, I never seem to use more then one together. (<br /><br />)
I always have break between r and / as it's just good coding practice.

Oh, I learned something new today!

I learned something new too!

personally I try and avoid break tags... it's nothing that can't be done using CSS and it just seems like a back-door way of adding style to my content.

What if I later chose that I wanted all addresses to be displayed on one line, or that I wanted the line spacing widened? It would be much easier to change a single definition in my CSS, than possibly a whole lot of HTML. A rubbish example, I know - but it still feels like cheating to me!

Snow can you give an example of how you would do an address with html/css?

I'd use something like:

Code: Select all

   <address>
     <p>3 Housey House,</p>
     <p>Townytown,</p>
     <p>Place,</p>
     <p>RFN92 9GN</p>
   </address>

Then just use:

Code: Select all

address p {}

to change it...

I don't think that would typically work for me then...
I usually give my p tags a margin-bottom of 20px to break up paragraphs.

However if I did #address.p that might work???

Code: Select all

p {margin:20px;}
address p {margin:0px;}

the styles cascade - so it should work fine

Thanks snow... I'll try that from now on..

That's horrible code! An address doesn't consist of three paragraphs. Semantics people! I'd do a negative line-height before adding p tags.

lol, it was just an example - I've not really had to put addresses on the sites I've produced... but what would you do if you wanted to display the address on one line?

but I would never want to use a <br/> tag anywhere on my site - it just doesn't seperate the style and content...

I really can't think of any reason why I would want this:

1020 West Point Dr. Omaha, NE 57105 United States

I see what you're saying, but if you use the break tag correctly, you won't ever need CSS to change its looks.

but you couldn't do this, could you?

Code: Select all

address p{text-indent: 25px;}
address p+p {text-indent: 35px;}
address p+p+p {text-indent: 45px;}
address p+p+p+p {text-indent: 55px;}

I can't imagine why I would ever want to, but use spans if it's necessary.

haha; spans, divs; whatever - the question is whether a br is part of the content or style... for me I would always consider it styling, but while the W3C remains silent on the issue, it's open for interpretation

Never think of content as style; it's always a shut and closed case. As for an address, <br /> is the right way to do it. You need to think of the way it looks without any CSS. Again, semantics!

I tried putting address lines into <p>'s - the code wouldn't validate (XHTML strict) so I had to take the <p>'s out and use <br />