[VE][108] Error Message Feedback

W3C:

The LEFTMARGIN and similar attributes of BODY are valid in many version of Internet Explorer. To report them as invalid attributes under the doctype
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
seems to me unduly restrictive. Although these attributes are nonstandard, they do have a visual effect and therefore cannot be omitted without causing a difference in document layout between various browsers.

I think that HTML features required to make documents have the same layout under different browsers should not be marked as errors; in fact, their omission ought to be reported.

For style sheets to work correctly in the area of margin and padding, "<body>" is incorrect. The correct HTML for cross-browser use is "<body leftmargin=0 marginwidth=0 topmargin=0 marginheight=0>".

For validation to be useful, it must fit the real world, not be a punitive measure against manufacturers who ignore the standards. Compare with English dictionaries, which validate against correct common usage, not against an arbitrary standard.

David Spector
Springtime Software

Received on Thursday, 12 August 2004 17:57:03 UTC