IFRAME specification

Dear Editor:

It's not clear to me from the documentation whether the IFRAME element
is in the Strict, Transitional, or Frameset DTD.


   <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/strict.dtd>

      Since IFRAME doesn't appear here, I assume that it's either
      Frameset or Transitional.  But, please see my comments below:


   <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/present/frames.html>

      16.5 Inline frames: the IFRAME element

      The example implies that it's in the Frameset DTD:

         "For user agents that support frames, the following example
          will place an inline frame surrounded by a border in the
          middle of the text."

      However, the reference delimits all of the /other/ Frameset
      elements with

         <![ %HTML.Frameset; [
         ]]>

      (16.4.1, the NOFRAMES element, is missing the closing "]]>")

      The IFRAME element is not so delimited in this reference, nor
      is it marked as deprecated.  This seems to imply that it's in
      the Strict DTD.


   <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/index/elements.html>

      The index of elements marks it as part of the "loose"
      (Transitional?) DTD.  It's the only "loose" element that isn't
      also marked as deprecated.  Except for this, I would have
      thought that "loose" and "deprecated" were synonymous.


It seems to me that, for all practical purposes, IFRAME is in the
Frameset DTD -- it's neither Strict nor deprecated.  I suggest:

   <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/present/frames.html>

      delimit IFRAME with "<![ %HTML.Frameset; [...]]>"

   <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/index/elements.html>

      mark the DTD column with F rather than L.

I don't know if these are merely editorial changes, or whether there's
some deeper issue with regard to the standard itself.  I would welcome
your feedback.

Best regards,

   Ted Hall                           <twhall@cuhk.edu.hk>
   Postdoctoral Fellow
   Department of Architecture
   Chinese University of Hong Kong

Received on Tuesday, 11 August 1998 07:08:28 UTC