WARNING: This is a rant. This is only a rant.

Actually, HTML's answer is more "I wasn't designed to do that". In fact, HTML's design choice was "I have no damned way of knowing what the user's screen is like, what they like, etc. I let the USER decide what they want things to look like". HTML is not a graphic layout language, it was never intended to be used that way. Getting this layout control is, basically, wedging a square peg into a round hole.

I do agree, though, that if you want a language in which to do graphic design and layout, HTML is a very poor choice. The proper tool for the job at hand. I don't know what the right tool is, but it most certainly is not HTML.

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