Re: XHTML

Ethan Fremen wrote:
> 
> Murray Altheim wrote:
> 
> > The ability to create many varieties of interoperable markup languages
> > based on a common framework (XML and its family of specs, XLink, XSL,
> > etc.) relies on people abandoning proprietary markup (and in this I
> > include a wide array of non-XML Web "features" such as CSS, JavaScript,
> > the current HTML linking syntax, etc.) and begin using truly
> > interoperable markup. A new baseline for interoperability, a new era
> > based on XML, XLink and XSL.
> 
> Ouch.  CSS is proprietary markup?  And here I thought I was being
> idealistic by pushing for documents that use only W3C recommendations.
> Now I'm supposed to use only XML and it's family of specifications?
> Err. Hum.  Well, since it looks like Spring of 2000 is going to be the
> first time one can use CSS1 relatively reliably, maybe I should just
> quit writing web pages and come back in 2004 or so when there are
> working XSL implementations that behave similarly...

There's a debate going on right now within the W3C about the applicability
of CSS in XML. Some think it suitable for use generally in any XML markup
language, some think it was designed for HTML and is unsuitable generically.
I happen to be strongly in the latter camp, as are most of my colleagues
here at Sun (as far as I know). CSS will work with the HTML DOM, but not
the XML DOM, so CSS is proprietary *to HTML*. Despite what you might
read on the W3C site about CSS vs. XSL (the document I'm thinking about
was written by one of the co-editors of the CSS spec, so go figure), XSL
is the stylesheet language designed for use with XML.

Murray

...........................................................................
Murray Altheim, SGML Grease Monkey         <mailto:altheim&#64;eng.sun.com>
Member of Technical Staff, Tools Development & Support
Sun Microsystems, 901 San Antonio Rd., UMPK17-102, Palo Alto, CA 94303-4900

   the honey bee is sad and cross and wicked as a weasel
   and when she perches on you boss she leaves a little measle -- archy

Received on Wednesday, 24 November 1999 13:33:20 UTC