HTML: global variables

[MattH]

Is there a way to store color info (like rgb and hex) as global variables in html? I'm working on this website, and it's got maybe 10 or 20 thousand tables, most with the same bg color. The last thing I want to do is go through all of them and change the colors cause of one stupid mistake (and it's more convenient than global find/replace).

[Asher]

HTML doesn't have variables. Period.

It's a markup language, not a programming language.

What you probably want is a scripting environment of some kind (PHP could do that no problem), or CSS somehow.

[MattH]

For large sections, such as navbar and some text, I'm using php includes, but I was hoping there was an easier way to do it with something like css. (really wasn't clear above)

[Asher]

If you're already using PHP, just use a PHP variable.

Then use "$color" everywhere and define it once at the top.

[chequita guevara]

You can do it with CSS. Suppose (for some reason) you want all cells in bright red. Either in the head of your document, or better, in a external css file, write:

td {background-color: #ff0000}

All table cells in linked documents wil then be red. You can override indivudual cells with by using the CLASS attribute to link another style or using an inline style:

<td align="center" width="45" style="background-color: #ffff00">

[MattH]

[MattH]

I think I'll go with the php approach
I allready have a mile long css file, an all the tables are slightly different- don't want to go around with

td {blah: "" etc}
     .{}
     .{}
     .{}
     .{}

and then have to redefine class for each table.

Lets see how this works.

[chequita guevara]

You can do the same thing for any element, it doesn't have to just be TD.

Ten to twenty thousand tables. Man, and I thought my work was hard.

[MattH]

I know some css... enough to define styles

Well, maybe it's not exactly 20,000, but who's counting?

[chequita guevara]

CSS is bloody simple.

http://archive.devx.com/projectcool/developer/dynamic/index.html

On the one hand, if you're more comfortable with PHP, go with it. On the other hand, you do need to keep in mind future developers. My current task is ripping out a bunch of brilliant JavaScript that no one here at the company can understand. It functions very well, but since we can't understand it (it's extremly complex and well over 1200 lines), we can't modify it. It's been around for three years, and none of the developers here was here when it was written.

[MattH]

No, no... I do know CSS... And I don't know how I've lived without it. The o'reilley book is right behind me.

[chequita guevara]

Mea culpa, read too quickly.

[chequita guevara]

Alternatively, you could create variables using JavaScript.

Just giving you options.

[Asher]

1,200 lines of JavaScript is a challenge?

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Asher
1,200 lines of JavaScript is a challenge?

I said at least. We really don't know how long it was, because it was all wrapped up into one long line. 1200 was where I got to before I was told to drop it.

Go here: http://www.acuvue.com/

Those twelve hundred+ lines of code control the buttons in the left side navbar. A couple rollovers, and a flyout menu? I could (and will) do the same with about 50 lines of code.