Re: SGML wierdness #743 [Was: Toward Closure on HTML ]

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Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 16:56:49 --100
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From: Matt Timmermans/MSL <Matt_Timmermans@msl.isis.org>
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Subject: Re: SGML wierdness #743 [Was: Toward Closure on HTML ]
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[Matt Timmermans]
|   Given these conditions, if the DTD were to be rewritten to use
|   'p' elements as containers instead of divisions, it would be
|   possible to specify BOTH the start and end tags as omissible.
|   When parsing current HTML documents with the new DTD, an SGML
|   parser would usually infer the initial <p>, and infer a </p>
|   before each explicit <p>.

[Daniel W. Connolly]
|   Try it. It just doesn't work that way. An SGML parser can only
|   infer required start tags.

It doesn't work with the DTD you provided, but my reasoning works like like 
this:  If <p> tags divide a body into paragraphs, then a body must contain at 
least one paragraph (no P tags), and can consist of only paragraphs.  With this 
content model, it works just fine:

<!DOCTYPE TEST [
<!ELEMENT TEST O O (HEAD, BODY)>
<!ELEMENT HEAD O O (TITLE)>
<!ELEMENT TITLE - - (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT BODY O O (P+)>
<!ELEMENT H1 - - (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT P O O (H1|#PCDATA)*>
]>
<TITLE>testing</TITLE>
<H1>Here we go...</H1>
This is no problem now.
<p>This would be fine
<p>And so would this.

The constraints on the content model I have in my last article were too loose 
(oops).

The DTD Dan gave implied that some things in HTML besides <p> tags can start 
and end paragraphs.  If this is a requirement, then it does cause problems.


</Matt>


Matt Timmermans               | Phone:  +1 613 727-5696
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