ISSUE-15 PROPOSAL: @version attribute in HTML5

On 07/05/2010 05:50 PM, Manu Sporny wrote:
> 2) ISSUE-15: @version attribute in HTML5 (on Manu)
>    http://www.w3.org/2010/02/rdfa/track/issues/15

The @version attribute has been deprecated in HTML5. A normative
declaration for the @version attribute was added to the latest HTML+RDFa
1.1 spec:

http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-rdfa-in-html-20100624/#the-version-attribute

The @version attribute value for HTML5+RDFa is:
   version="HTML+RDFa 1.1"

The @version attribute value for XHTML5+RDFa is:
   version="XHTML+RDFa 1.1"

HTML WG has introduced the concept of a Polyglot specification. A
polyglot HTML5 document is effectively a single document that means the
same thing in HTML5 and XHTML5. Having different attribute values for
HTML5 and XHTML5 for @version would mean that HTML+RDFa 1.1 could not be
authored in a way that is conforming to the polyglot spec.

We have a couple of options in front of us, that could be combined:

1. Keep everything as it is right now, ignoring the polyglot
   ramifications of the decision.
2. Harmonize the HTML5+RDFa and XHTML5+RDFa @version strings.
3. Specify that @version SHOULD NOT be used unless an author
   would like to force the RDFa Processor into a particular mode.

I think that we should do #2 and #3:

We should harmonize HTML5+RDFa and XHTML5+RDFa @version strings to:
   version="HTML+RDFa 1.1"

We should specify that @version SHOULD NOT be used unless an author
would like to force the RDFa Processor into a particular mode. If
@version is not specified, the RDFa Processor should assume the latest
REC version (which will be RDFa 1.1 for the foreseeable future).

Although doing #3 makes me nervous, I don't think people are remembering
to use @version on the vast majority of their documents (none of the OGP
documents that I looked at use @version). Worse, @version isn't always
editable by people without access to the full HTML document.

-- manu

-- 
Manu Sporny (skype: msporny, twitter: manusporny)
President/CEO - Digital Bazaar, Inc.
blog: Myth Busting Web Stacks - PHP is Faster Than You Think
http://blog.digitalbazaar.com/2010/06/12/myth-busting-php/2/

Received on Thursday, 8 July 2010 04:35:37 UTC