Re: Language label

> Jonas Brandel wrote (to the www-international list):
> 
> >Possibly a stupid comment, but shouldn't they both be allowed. 
> >> <HTML LANG=...> to enable language tagging of the HTML 
> >and <META HTTP-EQUIV...> to *fake* the HTTP header?!
> >
> >J.
> 
> It's not a stupid comment.  They are both allowed.  The question being 
> discussed is how the server should discover the primary language of an HTML 
> document, in order to put this information in the HTTP header.

Yes, both are allowed at present and only one should be allowed, otherwise
the programs would have to check for both: more work for everybody the
vendors and the doc producer. In anycase, only one should be present,
otherwise there will be contradictions.  Or one should take presedence
over the other.  Hence, the easier way is to have *one* single place to
indicate the primary language.
 
> For a reason I haven't yet understood, Tomas considers that the server should 
> take this information from inside the HTML document.  Others, including me, 
> suggest that this information belongs outside the document, eg in the file 
> name:
> 
>    home.fr.html
>    home.de.html
>    home.zh-cn.html
> 
> That is what has to be done for other files, such as images, eg:
> 
>    go-home.fr.gif
>    go-home.de.gif
>    go-home.zh-cn.gif
> 
> I don't understand why HTML files should be treated differently.
> 

I am happy to accept any syntax to indicate the primary language,
including the one you propose above: it could be consider *internal*
because it goes always with the doc; i.e., it is not in another place in
the system.  Having said that, I do not like the syntax in the filename
because they become more and more complex, it depends on the operating
system and some have restrictions regarding the number of "." extensions,
character set, etc.

Tomas

Received on Thursday, 27 February 1997 19:38:56 UTC