Document types, PHP, HTTP POST versus GET, rendering discrepancies, and user confusion

Sheryl Judd wrote to <mailto:www-validator@w3.org> on 18 January 2005 in 
"Netscape vs IE"
<mid:002c01c4fd8f$46a585e0$6401a8c0@Libris>:

> Can  W3C Markup Validation Service add php doc types to it's service?
> The following page works fine in I.E. but not in Net. Nav.:
>  
> to enter the problem php page, go here: 
> http://www.juddweb.net/hcs/enter_password3.php and enter this:
> class: Physics
> I.D. number: 894

I'll first address the problem which I believe to be your primary 
concern: a discrepancy in rendering between Microsoft Internet Explorer 
and Netscape Navigator. Validation of the markup would be a good move 
toward interoperability. However, markup validity does not ensure 
identical rendition across browsers. (There is nothing that can ensure 
identical rendition across an arbitrary selection of browsers.)

If your problem persists after both markup validation and a syntax check 
of the style sheets, ask for help in an appropriate forum. This list 
(<mailto:www-validator@w3.org>) is not an appropriate forum. There is 
the Web-authoring newsgroup 
(<news:comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc>), but I haven't checked it 
in years and decline to vouch for something unfamiliar. I admit that I 
don't know where to go for help on these problems.

Wherever you turn for help, be as specific as possible. Include version 
numbers for the browsers in question, identify your operating system, 
and explain the problems. The statement "works fine in X but not in Y" 
is frustratingly vague. Help others so that they can help you.

You refer to "[PHP] [document] types", but your meaning is unclear. As 
the W3C Markup Validation Service's name suggests, the service exists to 
validate markup, not PHP script. Besides, the fact that your PHP 
executes is all the validation that you need for your script. If you 
intend to validate the documents produced by the script, that is a 
separate matter. There are steps that you can take to do so.

Switch from the "POST" submission method to the "GET" submission method 
in the form at <http://www.juddweb.net/hcs/enter_password3.php>. The 
switch would lead naturally to the identification of results of form 
submission, as in, say, 
<http://www.juddweb.net/hcs/show_grade3.php?class=Physics&student=894>. 
You could then validate that document by submitting its URI to the 
validation service. The document "URIs, Addressability, and the use of 
HTTP GET and POST" (<http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/whenToUseGet.html>) 
offers explanation and a rationale.

-- 
Etan Wexler.

Received on Wednesday, 19 January 2005 05:22:02 UTC