Re: Flagging & in URL in HTML 4.01 transitional type.

[I inadvertently sent this only to Kynn on my first reply]

On Friday 08 June 2001 17:44, Kynn Bartlett wrote:
> At 6:12 PM +0100 2001/6/08, Lloyd Wood wrote:
> >In which case, you moan at the browser writer for not insisting on
> >the trailing semicolon of ©, or for trying to pass an unescaped
> >copyright symbol in a GET request.
>
> Actually, I get the feeling that omitting the ";" is usually acceptable
> or valid; someone who is a better SGML pro than me, can you confirm or
> deny that?


I'm not a SGML pro, but I can explain what's valid HTML vs. what's valid 
XHTML.

In SGML, whitespace can serve to terminate a character reference, but not in 
XML [correct me if I'm wrong here, SGML guys].  So in that sense the ';' is 
optional in HTML, so long as what follows the entity reference is whitespace.
For example, take the fragment:

         <p>&copy; &copy &copyright</p>

Validated as HTML4.01 Transitional, the first two pass, but the validator 
complains that '&copyright' isn't a valid entity.

Validated as XHTML1 Transitional, only the first passes, because the second 
isn't terminated properly.

HTH,
-- 
Thanasis Kinias
Vice President & Manager of Information Systems
Optimal LLC
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA