>? Can't the same thing be achieved in HTML 4.x using classes Not really. The power of semantics really has to lie in the fact that they are used consistently across a wide range of disparate systems. The fact that all the sites you build have a consistent ‘header’ class in them doesn’t mean that I am using the same class in the sites I build – I might be using the class ‘heading’ for example. Any spider or machine trying to read our code has to try an disambiguate the fact that when I use ‘heading’ I mean the same thing as you using ‘header’. And all through classes – which is not the correct place for that kind of semantic information anyway.
Adding the newer semantic elements allows robots, spiders and machine oriented user-agents to make more sense of more content and even infer more again (for example they can start making relationships between content and associated <aside> elements). From: li...@webstandardsgroup.org [mailto:li...@webstandardsgroup.org] On Behalf Of grant_malcolm_bai...@westnet.com.au Sent: Tuesday, 25 January 2011 9:45 AM To: wsg@webstandardsgroup.org Subject: [WSG] HTML5 v. HTML 4.x Hello, Could someone please clarify this for me. I realise that HTML5 has introduced new semantic elements such as <header>, <aside> etc., but does this really increase the expressive power of the markup? Can't the same thing be achieved in HTML 4.x using classes (e.g. <p class="header">)? I am reluctant to move to HTML5 due to the issue of backwards compatibility. I would be grateful for any replies. Regards, Grant Bailey ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: memberh...@webstandardsgroup.org ******************************************************************* Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. The information contained in this email and any attachment is confidential and may contain legally privileged or copyright material. It is intended only for the use of the addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are not permitted to disseminate, distribute or copy this email or any attachments. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this email from your system. The ABC does not represent or warrant that this transmission is secure or virus free. Before opening any attachment you should check for viruses. The ABC's liability is limited to resupplying any email and attachments. ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: memberh...@webstandardsgroup.org *******************************************************************
