Alternate table row color using CSS?

Readability and nth-child selector

Zebra Striping in tables means alternating row colors, which enhances legibility and reduces eye fatigue. Enhance your table's design consistency with tbody td { padding: 30px; }, making your data representation visually pleasant and easy-to-follow.

Browser compatibility considerations

The modern :nth-child() CSS feature is great, but keep in mind old browsers like IE8 or below, might not support it. Have a fallback plan ready, such as conditional styles or Javascript alterations for these variously aging edge cases.

jQuery v/s CSS: When to use what

For tables requiring dynamic alterations, CSS is performance-friendly. But for more complex interactions, jQuery comes to your rescue with selectors like $("tr:even") and $("tr:odd"). But remember, with great power(jQuery) comes great responsibility(overhead).

Maintaining impeccable tables using CSS

Organized code with maintainable CSS

Let’s tidy up your styles a bit. Add a class to your <table> and confine your nth-child styles within that class. This will promote maintainability and contextual specificity in your code.

Performance pointers

Remember, native CSS always runs circles around jQuery when it comes to performance – No extra library loading, just pure, unadulterated speed. So unless you're hosting a table party with realtime guests(user interactions) arriving and leaving, stick with pure CSS.

Dress up individual cells

Why not take a step further? Give individual cells some love using td elements within the alternating row selectors:

table tr:nth-child(odd) td:first-child { font-weight: bold; } // Bold move for the odd one!
table tr:nth-child(even) td:last-child { text-align: right; } // Last kid in the even row loves standing to the right!
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These seemingly small details can add a touch of subtlety and visual hierarchy to your tables, which your users will appreciate.

CSS v/s jQuery: Deciding what’s best for your case

When real-time user interaction isn't in the specs, CSS wears the crown for simplicity and performance. Introduce jQuery to the game only when you need dynamic behavior and have evaluated the performance impact.