Re: [HTML5] 2.8 Character encodings

On Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:01:55 +0200, Larry Masinter <masinter@adobe.com> wrote:
> What the document should say, rather than having  a 'willful'
> misinterpretation, is that ISO-8859-1 means ISO-8859-1, but that
> for backward compatibility with existing (broken) web content,
> HTTP interpreting agents SHOULD treat characters outside of the
> ISO-8859-1 repertoire as if they were in Windows-1252.

The document already says this. (Though it is a MUST, not SHOULD.)


> This would allow and encourage HTML validators and HTML generation
> software to use the correct interpretation without a 'willful'
> disregard for compatibility with other standards and processing
> agents outside of the scope of the specifications of this
> committee.

The document already encourages this. In fact, it requires it.


> IMHO, the willful disregard for compatibility with other
> specifications in the current specification reflects a consistent
> error in judgment.

>From the above it is unclear to me whether you understood the specification.


> I reject as an unsound design principle the notion that merely
> because there exist some broken web content today that we are
> forced to encode that broken behavior in HTML forever. Yes,
> HTML interpreting agents that wish to be compatible with existing
> content will need to apply some additional constraints and
> extensions, but it is unnecessary, and poor design, to fail
> to distinguish between advice to interpreting agents as to
> backward-compatibility behavior vs. advice to generating and
> authoring agents as to proper forward-looking behavior.

HTML5 is entirely based around the idea that these are separate audiences and deserve their own conformance criteria.

If I did not have more trust in you I'd say you're flaming.


-- 
Anne van Kesteren
http://annevankesteren.nl/

Received on Thursday, 30 July 2009 17:59:05 UTC