Re: Re: Microsoft XML

Do they finally support the <optgroup> tag, which has been in the HTML 4.0
spec for years with support only in Mozilla and Konqueror? :-)

Not that I'm aware of. It's important to realize that at Microsoft the XML
people are in one group (WebData) while the Internet Explorer people are in
another. The IE group tends to develop their product as much for in-house
consumption as it does for external use, which has been one of the biggest
valid criticisms that they've had to face. I do know that they support the
HTML 3.2 spec fully, but that they have moved slowly on HTML4.0 support. In
defense of the IE group, Microsoft has shifted its focus dramatically to the
server side, to the extent that IE is increasingly under the axe politically
and budget-wise. I've publicly criticized Microsoft over this shift in
priorities for a while now, because I think its unwise -- Passport/Hailstorm
is rapidly becoming a boondoggle, activation (another server side driven
concept) is becoming a boondoggle, and I suspect strongly that the most
significant advances in the web space in the next few years will actually
not be in better server technology but in the rich profusion of client-side
technologies. Microsoft grew dramatically when they focused in that arena,
while server side technologies have forced them to go to fewer customers
with larger pocket-books; this is perhaps reasonable when those pocket-books
are open, but disastrous when they're not.

-- Kurt Cagle


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