Re: Problem validating an <hr> tag

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Tony Cervo <TCervo@sanjuan.edu> wrote:

>1. Line 84, column 26: the name and VI delimiter can be omitted from
>                       an attribute specification only if SHORTTAG YES
>                       is specified
>
><hr width="100%" noshade />
>                         ^
>
>
>I've looked for information regarding name and VI delimiter with regards
>to the <hr> tag, and I'm not finding anything...

This isn't really in answer to your question Tony; it's more a "note to self"
kind of thing, so feel free to ignore (CCed just in case you're interested).


The "VI" delimiter in SGML is the "Value Indicator" delimiter role. i.e. in
document instances based on the SGML Declaration that acompanies the HTML 4.01
or XHTML 1.0 (i.e. the SGML Decl for XML) Recommendation, it is a fancy way of
referring to the equals sign "=" (delimiters can be reassigned in SGML).

In other words, that message is trying to tell you that you can omit the
attribute name ("name" above refers to the attribute name) and the "Value
Indicator" (i.e. "that which indicates the value of the named attribute") only
if the SGML Declaration says that the "SHORTTAG" feature is enabled (set to
"YES").

SHORTTAG beeing one of several Markup Minimization features offered by SGML
(only some of which are used by (X)HTML, and some used which probably should
not have been). The particular minimization feature it refers to is one that
enables you to say only "noshade" when the only possible value of the
attribute is the same as the name of the attribute; IOW, "noshade" would
really have meant "noshade=noshade" in an SGML Parser.

In this specific case it probably indicates that you are using XHTML 1.0 whose
SGML Declaration has disabled the necessary SHORTTAG feature.

The equals sign appears to be the value of this delimiter role in the
Reference Concrete Syntax from ISO 8879 "Standard Generalized Markup Language"
(and hence will be what the value is if the SGML Declaration doesn't specify a
Variant Concrete Syntax that alters it).


Source: The SGML Handbook by Charles F. Goldfarb; ISBN: 0-19-853737-9

(
  Which book I warmly recommend to anyone with an interest in the technical
  side of markup; regardless of XML's desperate attempt to disassociate
  itself from SGML. It is very much enlightening (if somewhat impenetrable)
  and contains the full text of ISO 8879 with annotations.
)

(
  And in case anyone is wondering why I'm posting what to some will be
  irrelevant and impenetrable technical mumbo-jumbo, and to others will
  be blindingly obvious and redundant, it's simply because I wish someone
  had told me about this stuff several years ago instead of leaving me to
  guess. :-)
)


- -- 
Everytime I write a rhyme these people thinks its a crime
I tell `em what's on my mind. I guess I'm a CRIMINAL!
I don't gotta say a word I just flip `em the bird and keep goin,
I don't take shit from no one. I'm a CRIMINAL!

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Received on Saturday, 31 May 2003 00:32:50 UTC