However, these (below) suggest that HTML3 spec at least had layout attributes like align, wrap, clear on p; and had width for hr (it was a Netscape extension on HTML2 too, apparently).
Also since HTML2 textarea had cols and rows attributes. There was also default styling on blockquote and lists that have indents. \ was used for horizontal "alignment" (tabs); code and pre too. I'm going to say there was some layout "tools" prior to CSS.
Quite interesting to read the specs now, at the time I was just groping around in the dark by myself, learning by reading source of live sites. Would have probably been much easier if I'd known a spec existed!
Further aside: spacer GIFs I never came across until about MSIE4, avoided them myself, too much of a purist. In the Mosaic vs Netscape Navigator days I don't think anyone had started to attempt pixel-matched designs across different UA??
However, these (below) suggest that HTML3 spec at least had layout attributes like align, wrap, clear on p; and had width for hr (it was a Netscape extension on HTML2 too, apparently).
Also since HTML2 textarea had cols and rows attributes. There was also default styling on blockquote and lists that have indents. \ was used for horizontal "alignment" (tabs); code and pre too. I'm going to say there was some layout "tools" prior to CSS.
Quite interesting to read the specs now, at the time I was just groping around in the dark by myself, learning by reading source of live sites. Would have probably been much easier if I'd known a spec existed!
https://www.w3.org/People/Raggett/book4/ch02.html -- MSIE promise to include CSS Nov '95.
http://marc.merlins.org/htmlearn/html-ref.html#P -- HTML3 spec, I think?, dated 1995. Go up one level to find HTML2 spec.
Further aside: spacer GIFs I never came across until about MSIE4, avoided them myself, too much of a purist. In the Mosaic vs Netscape Navigator days I don't think anyone had started to attempt pixel-matched designs across different UA??