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Re: Strict DOCTYPEs are wrong, use them only for debugging

• To: XML Dev ML <xml-dev@l...>
• Subject: Re: Strict DOCTYPEs are wrong, use them only for debugging
• From: Henri Sivonen <hsivonen@i...>
• Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 18:58:31 +0300
• In-reply-to: <200606171547.08456.frans.englich@t...>
• References: <200606171547.08456.frans.englich@t...>

On Jun 17, 2006, at 18:47, Frans Englich wrote:

> According to this guy:
>
> "I see more and more websites using strict DOCTYPES, apparently  
> webdevelopers
> have some misguided notion that this is most correct thing to do and
> guaranties the most consistent result. Nothing could be more wrong!"
>
> http://www.kdedevelopers.org/node/2097
>
> But what do you think?

First, I think this is off-topic for this list.
See http://hsivonen.iki.fi/doctype/#xml

I strongly disagree with the conclusions about the Standards Mode.  
(Please don't call it "strict mode". It gives people wrong ideas.)

If you are using IE 5 / Netscape 4-era features only, the Quirks  
Modes in various browsers may be relatively stable for you. However,  
assuming that using new features in the Quirks Mode is somehow  
smarter than using them in the Standards Mode is just bogus. There's  
no reason to believe that new CSS features work consistently in the  
Quirks Modes of various browsers.

The author is right that your stuff breaks if you rely on bugs in the  
Standards Mode. Indeed, that is correct. However, the right solution  
is not to use the Quirks Mode but the get a clue so that you know  
what you are doing, so that you don't rely on bugs.

(Yes, I am biased, because I've been promoting the Standards Mode for  
something like six years now.)

-- 
Henri Sivonen
hsivonen@i...
http://hsivonen.iki.fi/

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• References:
  • Strict DOCTYPEs are wrong, use them only for debugging
    • From: Frans Englich <frans.englich@t...>

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