Re: HTML 3.2 PR: Please add CLASS attribute!

On Fri, 22 Nov 1996, Carl Morris wrote:

> Welcome, you just saw my light as to why I won't use a validator...  I
> don't think I should have to live by the rules of some DTD...  HTML was

That's fine, as long as you realize that if you do not conform to the DTD,
what you are writing is not standard HTML.

> an extendable format, then it should be able to be extended without
> requiring a new DTD to understand it...  I wisH validators would go

HTML is an application of SGML.  Any valid extension of SGML can be
defined in a DTD.  If you do not use a DTD, you had better have some
other method of a) ensuring that your description is non-ambiguous,
and b) ensuring that it is valid SGML.  A DTD is simply a very
convenient way of covering these two points.

> BTW I think that HTML 3.2 does define CLASS as a future extension...
> they just are not ready to document it...  If you want to validate your

Nope.  HTML 3.2 does not define any semantics for CLASS, or ID, and only
minimal semantics for STYLE.  If what you mean is that the W3C has stated
an intention to include these features in a future version of the standard,
you are absolutely correct.  They are _not_ part of 3.2, however.

--
				Jim Wise
				System Administrator
				GSAPP, Columbia University
				jim@santafe.arch.columbia.edu
				http://www.arch.columbia.edu/~jim
				* Finger for PGP public key *

Received on Saturday, 23 November 1996 05:31:47 UTC