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Re: Why specify a DOCTYPE? Why validate?

for

From: Holly Marie
Date: May 30, 2002 6:46AM

From: "Mark Pilgrim"
<| So why specify a DOCTYPE? Why validate?
|
| Please CC, I'm on digest.

Are you aware of the different displays in newer browsers that are
linked to correct dtd use?
If no DTD and/or improper DTD is used? then the page is displayed with
some sort of backwards application or quirks mode.
And your xhtml 1.0 strict page may not actually be displaying in ways
you would like? It has been a while since I read about the various quirk
modes. Some are linked to using transitional html4.0 in newer browsers
or no document DTD at all?

I am not sure how this works between IE and NN, and others, but it does
exist.
Recently there was a thread regarding this topic on DTD and Doctype
use... on another web design list. And I did a search on the messages to
pull up some of these links.


links to documents explaining about the various modes or displays:
<http://www.saila.com/usage/tips/#doctype>;

<http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/css/overview/CSSEnhancements.
asp>
<http://www.mozilla.org/docs/web-developer/quirks/>;

Of course it is generally a good idea to use a correct doctype with a
complete link to the file where this document is residing. Newer
machines and browsers or devices accessing information will be more able
to deliver and render a page if the rules for the document are linked to
the document. I do know as xhtml /xml become more used and in various
deliveries, these doctypes or DTDs and specialized ones will become even
more important.

holly



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