iFrames vs. Framesets to display without obscured bottoms (for Diggbar experience)?

Question

Hi,

There are lots of posts regarding iFrames and framesets, but I have not found one that addresses my concern: are framesets bad to use?

Understanding the potential for backlash against framed websites, I want to recreate the Diggbar -- only instead of one iFrame underneath, I want two or more.

This Stackflow thread offers a solution, but it produces iFrames with the page bottoms obscured. To see an example of this, use the link below (I can only include one link, so I'm hacking here. Sorry.) and search for plaques. Note how the bottom of the page is obscured, including the scrollbar bottom.

Framesets seem like they might be simpler for recreating the Diggbar, where the bottom frames are perfectly matched to the height underneath the top bar (i.e., pages are not cut off).

Summary:

1. Are framesets bad to use (more so than iFrames)?
2. If I should use iFrames over framesets, how can I recreate the Diggbar while ensuring the scrollbars and pages do not get cut off at the bottom?

Thanks!

HACK LINK (put the link together): "http://" + "ephemera.continuation.org/stackoverflow/iframe.html"

Answer 1

I'd stay away from framesets at all costs. They are valid in terms of the HTML 4 specification but they offer poor cross device support. Most mainstream browsers will display a frameset as intended, but more specialised browsers (like those found on mobile phones) tend to mess them up and a lot of cases make the site unusable.

I suspect there are also accessiblity concerns, but I imagine they would also exist for iframes as well.

Something else to consider is presentation. If you use framesets, you are effectively restricting the design of your website to the parameters of the frameset (this frame sits on the top, this frame sits on the bottom). Whereas, an iframe is just another element on the page and can be manipulated much as any other element with CSS, allowing you to radically redesign your site without touching the HTML.

Rich