XHTML /HTML element and attribute case.

I was incorrect in my message of 24 Feb 1999, with subject of "Voyager /HTML
element and attribute names should be UPPER-CASE."

Please accept my revised comment.

I suggest that XHTML 1.0, Section 4.1.2 should read:
"XHTML element names should be upper case and attribute names lower case.
This selection of case is based on the W3C HTML 3.2 and HTML 4.0 reference
document usage of case for HTML."

My argument is NOT about:
-UPPER CASE IS BAD.
-lower case is cool.
-syntax color coding in an editor.
-hand coding or machine coding.
-being flexible.
-preference polls.

My argument is based on the precedent of the W3C HTML 3.2 reference document
and on the precedent of the W3C HTML 4.0 reference document.

XHTML needs immediate, unqualified acceptance by thousands of coders.
Abandoning W3C HTML 3.2 and HTML 4.0 reference documents is too far a reach.

A simple analogy:
The OS/2 Presentation Manager API was better than the Windows GUI API. But
OS/2 failed primarily on the lack of acceptance of the Presentation Manager
API by software developers. The Presentation Manager API had only minimal
differences with the Windows GUI API. But these minimal differences
(improvements of small value) resulted in the lack of acceptance of the
Presentation Manager API by developers.

This matter is of little importance except in how it affects the acceptance
of XHTML by the target audience.

Robert J. Bryan
bulldog@starnetinc.com

Received on Monday, 1 March 1999 11:02:43 UTC