Nice article on ALA about how to create a layout using almost pure CSS where there is a fixed-width sidebar and a dynamically resizing right-hand main content area without using Javascript to dynamically resize the page.

All right, class. Using CSS, kindly produce a liquid layout that contains a fixed-width, scrolling side panel and a flexible, scrolling main panel. Okay, now do it without JavaScript.

Check it out: A List Apart: Articles: Conflicting Absolute Positions