RE: Transition (was Re: Capitalize across "span")

The formatting of my email didn't come out properly - it's this bloody
stupid Microsoft Outlook which indents and changes colour for those with
MIME type email clients but isn't seeming to handle non-MIME mail very
well.  See below for a '>'ed version.

Brooke


>	-----Original Message-----
>	From:	John Udall 
>	Sent:	Tuesday, February 10, 1998 6:56 AM
>	To:	www-style@w3.org
>	Cc:	Todd Fahrner
>	Subject:	Re: Transition (was Re: Capitalize across
"span")

*	Wrong.  Or at least, not completely right.  "If XML is the
source, 
*	Then HTML is the output: display," as you say.  But in order to
be
*	viable to the commercial world, the HTML display must be fully 
*	compatable with legacy	browsers.  And I'm sorry to say, but 
*	there are still quite a few people out	there using Netscape
1.22 
*	and 2.02. You get <DIV> in Netscape 2.02, but there's no 
*	<SPAN> to be had. By supporting a full featured tag
	> set HTML 4.0	transitional provides the opportunity for a
truly smooth
	> transition from 	legacy browers to full XML support.  
*	A company can generate valid HTML documents for a variety 
*	of browser platforms while still maintaining a
	>	single content-base in XML.

	I like this idea - a good interim solution.  But can someone say
how you
	detect, in say a Perl CGI script or Omnimark code in an Omnimark
Server,
	which browser you are sending data to.  This is a fundamental
part of
	the equation I don't understand.

*	Cutting yourself off from your customer base just because they 
*	don't have the latest and greatest technology is one of the
surest 
*	way to kill off a business that I know of. It breeds ill will.
Backwards
*	compatability is important. IMHO, the W3C is taking a wise path
with 
*	HTML 4.0 transitional that will allow business to continue to
provide 
*	services even as they move	to newer and better
technologies. 

	...

>	John Udall,                                       
>    Programmer/Systems Administrator            40 Warren Hall
>	Extension Electronic Technologies Group   Cornell University
>	Cornell Cooperative Extension                     Ithaca, NY
>
14853
>	email: jsu1@cornell.edu                           Phone: (607)
> 255-8127

Thanks,

Brooke

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            Butterworths Electronic Publishing Developer

Received on Monday, 9 February 1998 19:30:43 UTC