Re: [WSG] XHTML transitional is a half-way house

[Chris Bentley]

I thought XHTML transitional _is_ XML. In what way is XHTML
transitional is a "less strict data format"?
It's a transition. It's a half-way house between HTML 4 and XHTML as
it
is intended (XHTML Strict).

No its not. There is no such thing as a half-way house between HTML 4
and XHTML.
Sure there is. That's what it's meant to be anyway. What else does
'Transitional' mean? - It's a bridge between what people were used to 
to
something newer. Which is why it's the same as XHTML Strict, just with 
a
generous helping of 'old' elements to ease the transition.

What ever XHTML transitional it is, it is not a bridge or a half-way 
house between HTML4 and XHTML.

I just googled "Choosing a doctype" and got this[1] excellent article - 
here's a quote.

"There seems to be a common misconception that the XHTML Transitional 
DOCTYPE is for developers to make a transition from HTML 4.01 to XHTML 
1.0. It's utter nonsense, as the HTML 4.01 DTD and the XHTML 1.0 DTD 
are very similar in the rules they apply. The only difference is the 
well-formed issues that any XML application must adhere to, whether 
it's Transitional or Strict. So which is the better DOCTYPE? HTML 4.01 
Strict, or XHTML 1.0 Transitional? Without a shadow of a doubt, the 
HTML 4.01 Strict DOCTYPE is a far better than XHTML Transitional, as it 
deprecates presentation elements such as font, and presentation 
attributes such as align. XHTML Transitional merely means you've 
ensured it's well formed."

[1 ]http://www.juicystudio.com/choosing-doctype/

XHTML defines "a reformulation of HTML 4 as an XML 1.0 application,
and
three DTDs corresponding to the ones defined by HTML 4"
http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/REC-xhtml1-20020801/#abstract

The difference between a "strict" and  a "transitionl" DTD (eg
HTML4.01
Strict and HTML4.01 Transitional) is that the strict DTD has
depreciated elements and attributes removed..
There you go.
Cheers,
chris
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