Mobile app version of vmapp.org
Login or Join
Vandalay111

: Strict XHTML doctypes I was wondering about the consequences of building a site that's compliant with XHTML1.0 Strict. I have developed a lot of sites using the transitional doctype, and read

@Vandalay111

Posted in: #Doctype #Xhtml

I was wondering about the consequences of building a site that's compliant with XHTML1.0 Strict. I have developed a lot of sites using the transitional doctype, and read about the consequences of a link target attribute. It can't be used and it has to be fixed with a JavaScript code block.

I was wondering if there were any more of these 'heavy impact' occurrences and if there are significant changes with day to day coding in the transitional variant.

10.02% popularity Vote Up Vote Down


Login to follow query

More posts by @Vandalay111

2 Comments

Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best

 

@Yeniel560

First up, using Javascript to add invalid attributes to elements is exactly as bad as putting them in the HTML in the first instance. You're just masking the "problem".

Second, I said this in another answer but the key to good validation is knowing what are the important errors to tackle. Will adding target="_blank" to a link negatively affect someone using a particular browser? No - either the link will open in a new window, or it won't. It won't break the layout or crash their browser or anything.

A strict doctype* is the only sensible choice for new web pages, because it massively reduces cross-browser problems, moreso than any other technique. But using a strict doctype doesn't mean your code must be 100% valid to the spec. It's okay to use technically invalid attributes as long as you are aware of the consequences (or lack of) when a browser might not support a feature.

* Personally I love the HTML5 doctype: <!DOCTYPE html>.
Incredibly easy to remember and it forces strict mode in all browsers, even IE6.

10% popularity Vote Up Vote Down


 

@BetL925

The consequences are better web standards support, more cross-browser compatibility, and easier checking for accessibility. The Strict standard encourages very clean code.

However, sometimes you simply need to break a rule in order to make it work right. In these cases, using Strict doesn't stand in your way from being able to do something, it just prevents you from passing the validation.

10% popularity Vote Up Vote Down


Back to top | Use Dark Theme