Time and time again I seem to find myself trying to explain to a client how important it is when working with a computer to consider content as separate from presentation. Although I try not to sink into "tech-talk" when working with people, some concepts are so important that an attempt to explain them is worth the effort.
First some basic definitions. Content is the information. Content is indispensible. Without content, you have nothing tell. Presentation is the how you display that information. Presentation is important. It can make the information easier to understand and more exciting to view.
Here is a simple illustration:
My Summer Vacation This summer I had a great time. I went to the moon, to Idaho, and to Walmart. Going to the moon was really fun. I had never been there before. When I got there, I saw lots of rocks and stuff. Idaho was actually similar in a way. Walmart had lots more stuff, but it was way more crowded!
This summer I had a great time. I went to
Going to the moon was really fun. I had never been there before. When I got there, I saw lots of rocks and stuff. Idaho was actually similar in a way. Walmart had lots more stuff, but it was way more crowded!
The content in this example is the same. Initially, it is just displayed as basic text. In the second version, the title is made larger and bold. The text is set blue, and the places visited are shown as a list with bullets. Admittedly, this presentation is not really very appealing, but it is my attempt to define the difference between content and presentation.
Why is this concept important?
Computers don't "see". They can read information, whether it is text, or numbers.
Computers are great at repetitive tasks. They can be programmed to follow a specific and complicated set of instructions over and over. This is great, because people are not so good at this, and generally hate trying to do it anyway.