Re: HTML+ Comments

Dave_Raggett <dsr@hplb.hpl.hp.com>

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From: Dave_Raggett <dsr@hplb.hpl.hp.com>
Message-id: <9307211031.AA15929@manuel.hpl.hp.com>
Subject: Re: HTML+ Comments 
To: sanders@bsdi.com
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 11:31:43 BST
Cc: www-talk@nxoc01.cern.ch
Mailer: Elm [revision: 66.36.1.1]
Status: RO

Tony Sanders replies to my summary of HTML+ issues:

>>     2)  Backwards compatibility with HTML
>> 
>>         Two ideas:
>> 
>>         a)  Include <CITE>, <MENU> and <B> etc. in the DTD as
>>             deprecated elements for backwards compatibility
>> 
>>         b)  Don't include them as part of the HTML+ standard
>>             but suggest that browser writers provide continued
>>             support for them for for backwards compatibility.

> Won't browsers be able to tell what DTD the document is using via the
> <!DOCTYPE> field?  If so then dropping them from the spec is probably
> the best course of action.

Yes, in theory, but there will be large amounts of manually created HTML
which omits this element.

I think that (b) keeps the spec clean, while providing practical advice
to browser writers, so that browsers will be able to work with both
formats or a mixture of the two, at least for the short term.

Dave