HTML 4.01 documentation // Line breaks in SGML/HTML

Dear HTML editor(s),

in the HTML 4.01 Specification I noticed a problem about the declaration of
line breaks in SGML: the specification says <quote>"that a line break
immediately following a start tag must be ignored, as must a line break
immediately before an end tag. This applies to all HTML elements without
exception."</quote> But what about empty elements? Are they handled as a
start tag, as an end tag or both?

Example: Is there a difference between the following parts of HTML text?
(1)
some text<br>some more text

(2)
some text<br>
some more text

(3)
some text
<br>some more text

(4)
some text
<br>
some more text

(This example could include the <img ...> or some another empty tag instead
of the <br> tag as well.)


Thanks in advance for your answer,

Nicolas Roeser