- From: Olivier Thereaux via cvs-syncmail <cvsmail@w3.org>
- Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 02:51:09 +0000
- To: www-validator-cvs@w3.org
Update of /sources/public/validator/htdocs/docs
In directory hutz:/tmp/cvs-serv11567
Modified Files:
help.html
Log Message:
clarifications on validity/conformance/quality questions
updates on "how it works"
Index: help.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /sources/public/validator/htdocs/docs/help.html,v
retrieving revision 1.27
retrieving revision 1.28
diff -u -d -r1.27 -r1.28
--- help.html 21 Jun 2005 05:26:05 -0000 1.27
+++ help.html 22 Jun 2005 02:51:06 -0000 1.28
@@ -179,22 +179,32 @@
should never be considered as a "W3C seal of quality".</p>
<h4 id="validandconform">Is validity the same thing as conformance?</h4>
- <p>No, they are different. A document is valid when it is written in accordance
- to a formal grammar, whereas conformance to a specification is defined by the
- specification itself. The two <em>might</em> be equivalent, but in most cases,
- some conformance requirements can not be expressed in the grammar, making validity
- only a part of the conformance.</p>
+ <p>
+ No, they are different concepts.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Markup languages are defined in <em>technical specifications</em>,
+ which generally include a <em>formal grammar</em>.
+ A document is valid when it is correctly written in accordance
+ to the formal grammar, whereas conformance relates to the
+ specification itself. The two <em>might</em> be equivalent, but in most cases,
+ some conformance requirements can not be expressed in the grammar, making validity
+ only a part of the conformance.
+ </p>
<h4 id="what-is-it">What is the Markup Validator and what does it do?</h4>
<p>
- The Markup Validator is a free tool and service that checks the
- syntax of (X)HTML documents.</p>
+ The Markup Validator is a free tool and service that
+ <a href="#validation_basics">validates markup</a>:
+ in other words, it checks the syntax of Web documents, written in formats
+ such as (X)HTML.
+ </p>
<p>
The Validator is sort of like <code>lint</code> for C. It compares
your HTML document to the defined syntax of HTML and reports any
discrepancies.
</p>
- <p><a href="../about.html">Learn more</a> about the Markup Validator.</p>
+ <p><a href="../about.html">Learn more</a> about the Markup Validator and the languages it can validate.</p>
<h4 id="why-validate">Why should I validate my HTML pages?</h4>
<p>
@@ -250,10 +260,11 @@
<h4 id="how">How does The Validator work?</h4>
<p>
- The Validator is based on <a href="http://www.jclark.com/">James
- Clark</a>'s <code><a href="http://www.jclark.com/sp/">nsgmls</a></code>
- SGML parser. The Validator itself is a CGI script that fetches your
- URL, passes it through <code>nsgmls</code>, and post-processes the
+ The Validator is based on <a href="http://openjade.sourceforge.net/">OpenSP</a>,
+ an SGML parser based on <a href="http://www.jclark.com/">James
+ Clark</a>'s <a href="http://www.jclark.com/sp/">SP</a>
+ SGML parser. The Validator itself is a CGI script that (basically) fetches your
+ document, passes it through the parser, and post-processes the
resulting error list for easier reading.
</p>
Received on Wednesday, 22 June 2005 02:51:11 UTC