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HTML: Tables

One of the most familiar forms of presenting information is tables. We meet them everywhere: product information, multiplication table, documents. Such a filing makes it easy to compare the characteristics of certain products. In page layout, tables are used just as often, although they have a slightly confusing layout.

A table is a composite element made up of several nested tags. This is similar to how lists are made up - there is a container and special tag elements inside it

The marking contains several basic elements:

  • <table> — table area
    • <tr> — line
    • <thead> — table header
    • <th> — header cell
    • <tbody> — table body
    • <td> — cell

Any table starts with a paired <table> tag

<table>
  <!-- Here will be the table data -->
</table>

It is within this tag creates rows and columns of the table. Now you can create rows and columns. The <tr> and <td> tags are used for this purpose. Create two rows and three cells in each row:

<table>
  <tr> <!-- Line -->
    <td>"Tota" Chocolate</td> <!-- Cell -->
    <td>100 gram</td>
    <td>20 dollars</td>
  </tr>

  <tr> <!-- Line -->
    <td>"Tota TeamLead" Chocolate</td> <!-- Cell -->
    <td>100 gram</td>
    <td>50 dollars</td>
  </tr>
</table>
"Tota" Chocolate 100 gram 20 dollars
"Tota TeamLead" Chocolate 100 gram 50 dollars

Important: The number of cells in each row must be the same


Try pasting this code into the editor. Notice that visually the output will be different from the table output in the theory of this lesson. The thing is that, by default, the browser doesn't put visible borders for the table cells. To do this, you need to use CSS, a special style language. You'll encounter this language and its capabilities in another course.

The data is displayed, but there are not enough headings to describe each column. The <thead> tag is used to create the table header and the <th> tag is used as the cell tag. Otherwise, the structure of the layout does not change. Let's add the headings to the table:

<table>
  <thead> <!-- Table header -->
    <tr>
      <th>Yummy</th> <!-- Header cell -->
      <th>Weight</th>
      <th>Price</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tr>
    <td>"Tota" Chocolate</td>
    <td>100 gram</td>
    <td>20 dollars</td>
  </tr>

  <tr>
    <td>"Tota TeamLead" Chocolate</td>
    <td>150 gram</td>
    <td>50 dollars</td>
  </tr>
</table>
Yummy Weight Price
"Tota" Chocolate 100 gram 20 dollars
"Tota TeamLead" Chocolate 150 gram 50 dollars

The last step is to add the <tbody> tag, which marks the main part of the table. Often developers miss it because browsers automatically wrap a group of lines that are not wrapped in other tags. Note that the <tbody> tag is often the only one in the table. In large tables, you can use several <tbody> to separate different sections in a table, but in most cases this is not necessary.

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Yummy</th>
      <th>Weight</th>
      <th>Price</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody> <!-- Table body -->
    <tr>
      <td>"Tota" Chocolate</td>
      <td>100 gram</td>
      <td>20 dollars</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>"Tota TeamLead" Chocolate</td>
      <td>150 gram</td>
      <td>50 dollars</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Additionally, you can specify the "footer" of the table. It can contain summary information, such as the cost of all goods.

Tables can be configured with a header. It is needed when several tables are output at the same time. It helps to separate them from each other and not get confused about which table is delivering what. A paired <caption> tag is used to create the table title. If you have a header, it must be placed immediately after the <table> tag. Let's add a header to the table:

<table>
  <caption>"Hexlet" chocolate assortment</caption>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Yummy</th>
      <th>Weight</th>
      <th>Price</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>"Tota" chocolate</td>
      <td>100 gram</td>
      <td>20 dollars</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>"Tota TeamLead" chocolate</td>
      <td>150 gram</td>
      <td>50 dollars</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
"Hexlet" chocolate assortment
Yummy Weight Price
"Tota" chocolate 100 gram 20 dollars
"Tota TeamLead" chocolate 150 gram 50 dollars

Instructions

Create a table of 3 rows with 2 cells in each. The first line contains the table headers

The exercise doesn't pass checking. What to do? 😶

If you've reached a deadlock it's time to ask your question in the «Discussions». How ask a question correctly:

  • Be sure to attach the test output, without it it's almost impossible to figure out what went wrong, even if you show your code. It's complicated for developers to execute code in their heads, but having a mistake before their eyes most probably will be helpful.
In my environment the code works, but not here 🤨

Tests are designed so that they test the solution in different ways and against different data. Often the solution works with one kind of input data but doesn't work with others. Check the «Tests» tab to figure this out, you can find hints at the error output.

My code is different from the teacher's one 🤔

It's fine. 🙆 One task in programming can be solved in many different ways. If your code passed all tests, it complies with the task conditions.

In some rare cases, the solution may be adjusted to the tests, but this can be seen immediately.

I've read the lessons but nothing is clear 🙄

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Tips

  • The number of cells in each row of the table must be the same

  • The caption of the table is always placed immediately after opening the table

  • Browsers automatically add the <tbody> tag if it is missing. In small tables it can be omitted


If you got stuck and don't know what to do, you can ask a question in our community