Comments on WD-html-in-xml-19990224

[John Cowan]

Tim Bray wrote:

> ?!? find me somewhere in a W3C or IETF document where the FPI has
> any standing.  Standards-anality aside, this is a real problem,
> because there is *no interoperable resolution mechanism*.  Surely
> you can't be serious.

Sure I'm serious.  The XHTML document (clause 3.1) gives three standard
FPIs for XHTML Strict, XHTML Transitional, and XHTML Frameset,
and *requires* that every strictly conforming XHTML document
have a DOCTYPE that refers to one of them.  The associated URL
(systemid) is allowed to vary, but not the FPI.

This is modeled on HTML 4.0, of course; clause 7.2 of that
standard mandates the appearance of one of three FPIs as well.
Similarly, HTML 3.2 (third clause) documents mandate the appearance of a
single FPI, and HTML 2.0 (RFC 1866, clause 3.3) mandates the appearance
of one of five FPIs.

Resolution is irrelevant; it's the FPI itself that says what kind of
(X)HTML you have.

Table of FPIs:

-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN
-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN
-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Frameset//EN

-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN
-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN
-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Frameset//EN

-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN

-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN
-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0 Level 2//EN
-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0 Level 1//EN
-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0 Strict//EN
-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0 Strict Level 1//EN

-- 
John Cowan	http://www.ccil.org/~cowan		cowan at ccil.org
	You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
	You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
		Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)

xml-dev: A list for W3C XML Developers. To post, mailto:xml-dev at ic.ac.uk
Archived as: http://www.lists.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/xml-dev/ and on CD-ROM/ISBN 981-02-3594-1
To (un)subscribe, mailto:majordomo at ic.ac.uk the following message;
(un)subscribe xml-dev
To subscribe to the digests, mailto:majordomo at ic.ac.uk the following message;
subscribe xml-dev-digest
List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (mailto:rzepa at ic.ac.uk)