Re: 4. ID assignment and the empty string

On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, Norman Walsh wrote:
> | |
> | |    2. If this normalised value is not the empty string, ID assignment
> | |       is performed using the normalised attribute as the ID.
> 
> The Core WG discussed this issue and concluded that the empty string is
> no different than any other invalid value. Please let us know if you find
> this answer satisfactory.

The problem is that invalid values do not stop the value from becoming an 
ID according to the current wording as I understand it. However, while it 
is not a big problem if "!(&" becomes an ID value that can be looked up 
using the DOM getElementById() method or accessed in CSS via the #\!\(\& 
selector, it is a more serious problem if the empty string is used as an 
element's identifier.

Also, without the proposed modification quoted above, it is unclear that 
ID assignment is performed using the normalised attribute value, as 
opposed to any other value. (While only one processing makes common sense, 
other processings would not be non-conformant without the explicit 
statement above).

Thus I disagree with this resolution.

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
http://ln.hixie.ch/       U+263A                /,   _.. \   _\  ;`._ ,.
Things that are impossible just take longer.   `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'

Received on Thursday, 20 January 2005 12:59:43 UTC