Re: The problems with namespaces in text/html (Was: MathML-in-HTML5)

Ian Hickson said:
>
> In browsers today, the following:
>
>   <a href="test" xmlns=""> ... </a>
>
> ...is just a link. If we start supporting xmlns="" as it works in XML, but
> in HTML, then literally millions of pages are going to suddenly have their
> links stop working, because <a> in the "" namespace (as opposed to the
> XHTML namespace), is not an HTML <a>, and thus isn't a link.
>
> I've seen hundreds of thousands of occurances of bogus meaningless things
> like this:
>
>   <br xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
>
> ...as well as many thousands of pages with xmlns="" values pointing to
> their own sites (as opposed to any sort of half-sensible namespace).

I asked for XML no HTML!

>> What is the problem with using the xmlns attribute on <a> or <html:a>
>> elements in a XML approach?

Your above <br> example, i would call that misuse, rather than use, of the
xmlns.

> Even worse, Office
> HTML, of which there is a LOT on the Web, uses namespaces in a way to

That is one of reasons my feelings (already said here) that Office 2007
will predate p-MathML on the web with the new mathematical markup OMML.

If Mozilla encourages the CSS approach that White Lynx recommended
yesterday, they could draw many of OMML since the markup is really CSS
friendly: sub and sup into msubsup, num and den into frac etcetera. That
is _not_ how MathML 1-2 were designed.

Then now Mozilla is moving to Math(T)ml into HTML 5 but what about XML?
Since all my (and of others) efforts and pleas were always ignored at the
WhatWG, i will simply ask, what are your plans for the XML world? MathML
3?


P.S: You have said too many times that you could not implement original
CCS-Math draft not MathML into HTML 5 because technical motives with the
browser. You now add:

> I've worked with one browser vendor who tried implementing this
> namespace thing before, and had to back out because it broke real content
> in pretty fundamental ways.)

I recommend you a change in your

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
http://ln.hixie.ch/       U+263A                /,   _.. \   _\  ;`._ ,.
Things that are impossible just take longer.   `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'

to

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
http://ln.hixie.ch/       U+263A                /,   _.. \   _\  ;`._ ,.
Things that are impossible just are.           `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'


Juan R.

Center for CANONICAL |SCIENCE)

Received on Friday, 6 October 2006 07:42:43 UTC