Validity error in w3 document xhtml-special.ent

Hi,

As the subject line suggests, I have found a validity error in a working 
release file regarding XHTML.

The file is located at:
http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-modularization/DTD/xhtml-special.ent

At first, I thought that my XML editor program had a bug and I reported 
it to the developers. Below is what they answered:

<>
  This is not a bug in XMLSpy. The problem is with the 
http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-modularization/DTD/xhtml-special.ent.  The 
XML specification 1.0 (3rd edition but also XML 1.1) states in section 
"4.6 Predefined Entities": If the entities lt or amp are declared, they 
MUST be declared as internal entities whose replacement text is a 
character reference to the respective character (less-than sign or 
ampersand) being escaped.

If an XML processor would take literally what W3C has defined in the 
file "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-modularization/DTD/xhtml-special.ent", 
then the "lt"-entity would have a replacement text of "&<" resolved from 
its literal entity value "&#38;&#60;" which contains two character 
references - one denoting  the ampersand, the other denoting the 
less-sign. Instead, the entity "lt" should receive the replacement text 
"&#60;" due to a literal entity value of "&#38;#60;". Since most XML 
processors ignore redefinition of predefined entities, this malformed 
redefinition of "lt" obviously slipped through.

XML Spy on the other hand, takes its validation duties serious and 
reports an error as the spec demands.  You will have to notify W3C of 
their problematic entity definitions in the files of their 
"Modularization of XHTML".

Thank you
</>

And informed you I have.

Thank you,
    Christian Vest Hansen.

Received on Sunday, 27 February 2005 16:36:59 UTC