lachy.id.au — XHTML is not merely HTML 4 in XML syntax, it comes packaged with all the XML handling requirements as well, with great big ?Fragile? and ?Handle with Care? stickers on the front of the box and thus it may not be the ideal programming language for beginners.
Dec 8, 2005 View in Crawl 4
bogthaDec 9, 2005
aarvark,> XHTML is the web standard, like it or not.Er, no. It is one specification of many. The publication of one specification does not automatically invalidate all others. HTML 4.01 is just as legitimate as XHTML 1.0.In fact, if you want to talk about *standards*, neither HTML 4.01 or XHTML 1.0 are the best choice. If you want a *standard* then use ISO-HTML, which is based on HTML 4.01, not XHTML 1.0. ISO-HTML is the only web browser markup language that has been standardised by a standards organisation (as opposed to open specifications published by a vendor consortium like the W3C).> Nobody, even beginners at HTML, should be using anything less than XHTML 1.0 Transitional.Now this is downright bad advice. The differences between XHTML 1.0 and HTML 4.01 are nothing compared with the differences between Strict and Transitional. Using all the crap in Transitional can cause far more harm than any of the differences between HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0.> No digg, because this is a horrendous misunderstanding of web standards.Based on the above, I guarantee that Lachlan understands the issues at hand far better than you do.
lord2800Dec 9, 2005
@kreativemind:(X)HTML isn't even remotely a programming language. Whoever decided to start calling it one needs to get a clue. (X)HTML is a structured markup language at best -- the same thing that word processors have been doing for god-knows-how-long. As far as scripted vs. core programming languages, you're not even close there. PHP is a scripted programming language that has a linker, but is generally interpreted. Perl is a scripted programming language. ASP, Coldfusion, Java, Python, these are all examples of scripted languages(to some extent... Java is more of an interpreted language but let's not get into that). C/C++ is the only language you mention that is a core language that isn't interpreted.
reitoeiDec 9, 2005
"Programming language"?Stay out of the valley!
squeakypantsDec 9, 2005
stfu you stupid s**tDo you know what you just said? "People who program sloppily shouldn't use xhtml." The stupidest thing is that xhtml is very simple to code correctly, and they have a free code validator that tells you exactly what is wrong with your code if it isn't valid.please leave digg forever. my pants are no longer squeaky.
indiefanDec 9, 2005
^ the methods dictate the tools, not vice-versa. Take back control of the web and don't let ie dictate how things should be.
montekDec 9, 2005
The title of the article is flawed in suggesting that *HTML is a programming language. Still, this is truly fantastic information for web developers (so ++dugg).
miothegreatDec 9, 2005
Lame.If just for the inclusion of the word 'programming' in a title (The Digg Title, not even the article title!) for an article about a MARKUP language.
maniacdiggerDec 9, 2005
Ridiculous post. No Digg. Lame.XHTML is not a programming language, it is a markup syntax. The nonsense about it being bloatfest is also absurd... More than HTML? Lame all the way!
bogthaDec 9, 2005
> Personally, I prefer XHTML, because it is increasingly becoming the standard. It doesn't invalidate the others, but it is the direction the web is takingI can't agree that it is "increasingly becoming the standard". XHTML is still a second-class markup language in terms of browser support. Third-party vendors like Google still supply code that simply doesn't work with XHTML. Browsers that support XHTML still support HTML better. Developer expertise is still rooted in HTML development practices, even if they *claim* they are using XHTML.Even if XHTML is the "direction things are going", that doesn't change the fact that *today*, XHTML causes more problems for beginners than HTML. Hell, *experienced* web developers make all kinds of mistakes and think they are using XHTML correctly - how are beginners supposed to cope?> I only recommend transitional for beginners. Being able to use deprecated tags AT FIRST makes it a lot easier to develop the skills one needs.No way. Why learn bad habits when you are only going to have to unlearn them? Strict has 10% less element types to learn. Strict has about 50% less attributes to learn.