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Re:embed element within object tag not validating?

for

From: Terence de Giere
Date: Jul 19, 2002 7:44AM

Mark:

EMBED NOT PART OF PUBLIC HTML SPECIFICATIONS:

No recommended HTML or XHTML from the W3C or the ISO has ever included
EMBED. To follow the current guidelines you would have to use OBJECT
only, and leave out EMBED which would leave out browsers like Netscape
4.x as far as running Flash.

You can place other accessible content in the OBJECT element, such as
text or static images to use as an alternative to the Flash content,
which you have done, and which would display in Netscape 4.x. The OBJECT
element can be nested as well so different kinds of alternate content
can be presented. If an image coded in OBJECT was in a nested OBJECT
element and did not show, as in a text browser, text between the nested
OBJECT element could provide the information. In other words, if in a
browser, the Flash would not run, the browser then moves down the nested
chain of OBJECT elements until it finds something it can process. If a
browser does not support OBJECT it will render the first content in the
chain it recognizes and can process; for a text browser this would be
text between the OBJECT tags. The HTML specifications require a browser
to display, if possible, the content of any element it does not
recognize, but not any attributes of an unrecognized element.

VALID HTML NOT REQUIRED FOR SOME ACCESSIBLITY LEVELS:

To be compliant with accessibility guidelines for W3C Priority 1 (Level
A) or Section 508 rules, you do not need valid HTML. You could remove
the DOCTYPE delcaration at the top of the page.

CUSTOM HTML SPECIFICATIONS:

You could try what IBM has done and use a custom HTML DTD. IBM made a
modified version of the XHTML Transitional DTD that includes the EMBED
element:

http://www.ibm.com/data/dtd/v11/ibmxhtml1-transitional.dtd

If you go to the IBM site, they reference this DOCTYPE from their own
servers. It is not however a DTD that can be validated from the
http://validator.w3.org/ validation site. Taking an xhtml doctype, and
using the application/xhtml+xml mime type for a web page, you can create
a valid xhtml plus xml document that includes the embed element. You
will need to validate it using local software that has access to the
modified DTD or possibly from the http://www.htmlhelp.com / web site
which has an option for custom DTDs. See
http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/validator/tips.html for information on
using a custom DTD.

FLASH AND USABILITY:

A note on usability: Splash pages generally annoy users since they
prevent them from quickly getting to site content, especially on repeat
visits. Your site would not lose much by dropping off the intro page.
Usability experts discourage them. See
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001029.html for Jakob Nielsen's article
on the use of Flash and splash pages.

Terence de Giere
<EMAIL REMOVED>

============
Mark Bryant wrote:

> When validating http://www.gcflearnfree.org with an HTML validator, we
> find
> out that <embed> is not part of html 4.01 and therefore does not validate.
> We do not use flash often and it is only used as supplemental material to
> information presented. Any ideas on how to make it validate?
>
> TIA,
> mark
>





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