Re: HTML Streaming

Albert Fine writes:
   Tags can be in a variety places in a HTML file and still be
   displayed in the same way by the browser. For example, the title
   tag, the first thing you see, can be placed at the end of the HTML

I know it's possible, but the rules of HTML forbid this. It's just
sloppy behaviour by browsers to cater for sloppy writing by authors
using sloppy editors written by people who haven't read the fine
manuals :-)

   file. I would like to see the development of a standard that
   organizes tags into a streamable HTML file.  The compiled HTML file
   would allow the browser to view the HTML file as it is
   downloaded. For example, the title tag would be placed first. My
   streaming HTML protocols are very early in development and I would
   appreciate any help.

I don't see anything in HTML that stops this right now. What did
you want? You can stream HTML exactly as it stands, and the XTML
element in HTML Pro enables endless streaming of multiple HTML
"files".

Those with long memories will recall that one of Netscape's (Mozilla's
as-was) first "benefits" over Mosaic was that it claimed to put the
text on the screen as it arrived, rather than waiting until everything
was downloaded -- including graphics -- before composing and
displaying it as Mosaic did.

Unfortunately, now that the everyone's using TABLE to align stuff,
browsers CANNOT display-as-they-go, because they need to receive
everything in the table before they can work out the widths. Width
attributes on images help this, but do not entirely solve the
problem. HTML has all the elements needed to do it (eg COLSPEC) but
the browsers don't seem to do anything with them.

///Peter

Received on Tuesday, 26 August 1997 19:31:35 UTC