Re: Backwards compatibility of new selectors (was: Color models and CSS2 in general)

Liam Quinn wrote:
> If you don't add funky characters you don't have backwards compatibility
> with CSS1-compliant browsers.

I think you can.  I think I gave something close to a real
way of doing it which would actually be bc with css1 browsers.

>.... 

> I don't think that CSS2 should be held back because of backwards
> compatibility concerns in buggy implementations.  If that were the case,
> we'd have to deprecate em and ex units (IE3 bugs), backslash escaping in
> selectors (Netscape 4 bug), percentage font sizes (IE3), and a slew of
> other features.  The current CSS implementations are at such an infantile
> stage that I don't think that those writing the CSS2 draft should concern
> themselves with browser bugs.  <ANALOGY CLASS=dumb>You don't reform the
> education system just because 2-year-olds can't pass high
> school.</ANALOGY>

Nice rhetoric.  Most of these bits (not all) don't matter much
except that you'll get some bad formatting.  That's different from
really wrong things happening,  which is my suspicion for the extension
syntax for selecting on child/sibling information.

All good standards work *must*, not may, pay attention to what the real
implementations are doing.  Turning a blind eye is not an acceptable
response.  Why not critique the idea of using the pseudo-class/element
syntax instead of attacking the browser makers?  And *if* there's such a
way to do this,  why not do it that way?

I notice BTW that nobody has even bothered commenting on the clash
between this work and DSSSL/XSL.

Doug
-- 
Doug Rand				drand@sgi.com
Silicon Graphics/SSO			http://reality.sgi.com/drand
Disclaimer: These are my views,  SGI's views are in 3D

Received on Tuesday, 2 December 1997 17:57:44 UTC