How do you specify table padding in CSS? ( table, not cell padding )

Question

I have a table with a colored background and I need to specify the padding between the table and it\'s content, I.E. cells.
The table tag doesn\'t seem to accept a paddi

Answer 1

Here's the thing you should understand about tables... They're not a tree of nested independent elements. They're a single compound element. While the individual TDs behave more or less like CSS block elements, the intermediate stuff (anything between the TABLE and TD, including TRs and TBODYs) is indivisible and doesn't fall into either inline nor block. No random HTML elements are allowed in that other-dimensional space, and the size of such other-dimensional space isn't configurable at all through CSS. Only the HTML cellspacing property can even get at it, and that property has no analog in CSS.

So, to solve your problem, I'd suggest either a DIV wrapper as another poster suggests, or if you absolutely must keep it contained in the table, you have this ugly junk:

    

        
a
b
c
    
    

        
d
e
f
    
    

        
g
h
i