kangax wrote: > I'm afraid bringing in xhtml would get us into more trouble > http://www.autisticcuckoo.net/archive.php?id=2005/03/14/xhtml-is-dead > : ) > > The issue is obviously debatable. Very interesting indeed. What do list members think about XHTML versus HTML? It is interesting especially since the prototype and scriptaculous authors consistently use XHTML. IMO the root of the debate is what to do about IE being so far behind the curve.
I think some of Ian's ideas are made on bad assumptions (http://www.hixie.ch/advocacy/xhtml). 1) He assumes support of legacy browsers is important. In the 2 1/2 years since this article, almost all web authors have stopped targeting IE5 and Netscape 4. A lot of the problems with XHTML go away when legacy support is dropped. 2) He assumes that web authors cannot push browser technology. Here are a few examples of how authors can push technology: - If every page stopped working (e.g. showed an xml tree) in IE one day, Microsoft would have no choice but to release patches. - If every author made a feature rich page for non-IE browsers and a boring text-page for IE browsers, Microsoft would be highly pressured to come up to speed with Gecko, Opera, and WebKit. - From Microsoft's perspective, it is important that their product work well in normal operating conditions. If 90% of web pages are XHTML by IE8's release, maybe Microsoft would consider better support for both "fake" and "true" XTHML. In such a case, web authors could quickly convert their fake XHTML into true HTML with a few adjustments (e.g. add an XML header). 3) He ignores the importance of new browser technology such as mobile-device browsers. If all web pages were XHTML, CPU-savvy mobile devices would save a lot of cycles by assuming the document was well-formed. 4) He seems to be advocating making web pages that will last forever. In the evolving and fast-moving web world, there are a lot of exciting things coming along: SVG images, columnar layout, full PNG support, multiple background images, and super useful JavaScript such as getElementsByClassName and getElementsBySelector. I feel like the best way to pressure Microsoft is to start giving non-IE users a better experience by using these newly emerging technologies. Sure, SVG might fizzle out, but such risks are often worth taking. Basically, I think that Ian's perspective is to sit and wait for Microsoft while I would rather fight and push! - Ken Snyder --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Spinoffs" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-spinoffs?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
