IHS.gov Data Table Standard

Standard:

All Data Tables will be coded using row and column headings and summary attribute.

Requirements:

A data table is ANY table that isn't used for formatting a webpage. Data tables with more than one row of data must use scoping. Complex Data Tables must use header/id attributes to associate data cells with row/column headings.

Example:
Simple Data Table:

<table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary="Clothing Data" border="1">
  <tr>
     <th scope="col">Clothing</th>
     <th scope="col">Size</th>
     <th scope="col">Cost in Dollars</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
     <th scope="row">Shirt</th>
     <td>Large</td>
     <td>1</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
     <th scope="row">Pants</th>
     <td>Medium</td>
     <td>6</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Complex Data Table:

<table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary="Clothing Data" border="1">
  <tr>
     <td> </td>
     <th id="clothing">Clothing</th>
     <th id="size">Size</th>
     <th id="cost">Cost in Dollars</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
     <th rowspan="2" id="winter">Winter</th>
     <th id="hat">Hat</th>
     <td headers="winter hat size">Large</td>
     <td headers="winter hat cost">5</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
     <th id="pants">Pants</th>
     <td headers="winter pants size">Medium</td>
     <td headers="winter pants cost">10</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
     <th id="summer">Summer</th>
     <th id="shirt">Shirt</th>
     <td headers ="summer shirt size">Small</td>
     <td headers="summer shirt cost"> 12</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Justification and Reasoning:

This standard ensures IHS.gov tables meet section 508 requirements as well as meet best practices for data table development.

Exemptions:

None