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Re: Why specify a DOCTYPE? Why validate?

for

From: Holly Marie
Date: May 30, 2002 7:08AM

|
| So why specify a DOCTYPE?

http://c2.com/cgi-bin/wiki?copy=ValidHtml
This is an interesting set of information, too.
I was looking for the NN pages on Quirks modes and display problems
associated with using various doctypes or no doctype or DTD at all, and
cam up with this link....

An interesting portion of this post...
"For instance, using a 4.0 Transitional DocType while using 'name'
within the image tag will cause some versions of IE to occasionally fail
to load images."

If I find the NN quirks mode link I will post it. It could follow Moz
closely or a link for that information may even be located in this
article above.

| Why validate?

I did not see this little last question. I validate as I write, and also
check the pages at Delorie.com with various web tools(backwards viewer,
css off etc, and Lynx viewer, as well as purifier). I also test the
pages at a few more checks and validators, including bobby [ WAI and the
other check] and Vischeck.com for color viewer differences.
http://www.htmlhelp.com , info on differences and tools at:
http://www.arealvalidator.com/real-validation.html too.

I have been writing by hand and more of xhtml for a few years, so it is
not often there are mistakes, but they do happen. It is easy to leave
off a closing tag or make a mistake and include an old attribute that is
no longer included in a version of xhtml, etc... It is also easy to
catch an image that may have been put in and the alt was missed by
accident.

Testing or checking a page in a lynx viewer is helpful when checking the
text content and flow of the page. There are other ways.
Validating and checking is a very good idea, we can have a better idea
that the page will work. It is true that some things will validate and
may not be good to use on a page, however, I am one that believes that
the validator is not the only tool that should be used to check pages.
Only one. And there are a few types of validators too. Lints and SGML
parse types...

holly



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