Container or No Container?

It's something I’ve been asking myself as i try and teach myself to code tableless xHTML and CSS, is it better to have a DIV which is a container with all the content and code inside it, or just to have no container?

I've tried both and there seems to be no difference to me, but then again I am a complete beginner and don't particularly understand CSS very well, but I’m slowly getting there.

So yeah, what do you do? Do you create a main DIV and use it as a container, or just not bother with the container.

Thanks.

To me, i only use a container when i'm centering content or want to limit width.

I use a container. With the container it is so much easier to set everything up. Otherwise you have to go threw and change everything accordingly. I definately agree it is amazing with centering as well.

I find a container is most beneficial when used in conjunction with the inheriting aspects of CSS. You can quickly assign a style to all characteristics of elements within a container by assigning it to that container. I use containers whenever I need/want this ability.

Originally Posted by Jeff Andersen To me, i only use a container when i'm centering content or want to limit width.

I agree with Jeff.

Starting container is exactly same as first <table> to the rest. I always use container for full layout.

Originally Posted by Jeff Andersen To me, i only use a container when i'm centering content or want to limit width.

.

I always use a container but that's just a habit. But I almost always use the container for something

I always use a container, helps with positioning elements within it.

You should always use a container unless you are making a fluid layout that is 100% of the page. Containers can also sort out problems in browsers as you are not manually assigning a width and position to each element rather than the container.