list4xt : Mailing list for the XT users community.

[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits

New Message
• Reply
• Next message: Eric van der Vlist: "[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits"
• Previous message: Eric van der Vlist: "[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits"
• In reply to: Mike Brown: "[list4xt] XHTML output handler nits"
• Next in thread: Eric van der Vlist: "[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits"
• Reply: Simon St.Laurent: "[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits"
• Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]

At 12:06 PM 5/1/00 -0600, Mike Brown wrote:
>Something about this output handler doesn't sit well with me. I think it's
>just a matter of peripheral issues of vague naming and purpose getting
>mixed up with my personal feelings on feeding "loose" XHTML for certain
>browsers to render because they don't know any better. I have plenty of
>XHTML that is not intended to be rendered in a any browser and for which
>the XML output method is prudent.
>
>[....]
>
>It is not reasonable to assume that the guidelines in appendix C will
>apply to XHTML 1.1 and beyond, and in fact they don't really apply very
>well to all XHTML 1.0, since an XHTML document does not have to "strictly
>conform" -- it may contain elements that are not from the XHTML namespace
> [Sec. 3.1.2 of XHTML 1.0].
>
>I think the method should be renamed to indicate that it is intended to
>achieve this one particular goal, based on guidelines for a specific
>version of XHTML. The version attribute should be required on the
>xsl:output element. Something like this:
>
>[...]
>
>Just an opinion. Don't take it too seriously.

I won't. Having just finished a book on XHTML, I expect the XHTML 'legacy'
rules to be with us for something too close to eternity, and find your
belief in straight--up XML output downright dangerous.

While you may not assume that the XHTML you generate will go anywhere near
a browser in its lifetime, odds are awfully good that someone besides you
will say 'hey, neat, HTML!' and drop it into a browser someplace.

It's going to be two or three browser versions before the glitches
involving empty tags and PIs are behind us, and users aren't that quick to
change. Even programmers' toolkits, notably Swing, tend to choke when fed
XHTML.

If you want the rest of your concerns addressed in documentation, that's
fine, but I think I'll pass on what I see as your wild optimism regarding
the XMLization of HTML.

Simon St.Laurent
XML Elements of Style / XML: A Primer, 2nd Ed.
Building XML Applications
Inside XML DTDs: Scientific and Technical
Cookies / Sharing Bandwidth
http://mainstreetinclusionadvisors.com

--
Mailing list for the XT users community.     (http://firearmsmerchantservice.com)
(mailto:list4xt-request@4xt.org?Subject=unsubscribe to unsubscribe)

• Next message: Eric van der Vlist: "[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits"
• Previous message: Eric van der Vlist: "[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits"
• In reply to: Mike Brown: "[list4xt] XHTML output handler nits"
• Next in thread: Eric van der Vlist: "[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits"
• Reply: Simon St.Laurent: "[list4xt] Re: XHTML output handler nits"
• Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]