Compiling HTML in the browser
I do the best I can with keeping the sites I build standards compliant. I’m far from an expert on the subject, but at least I’m aware there are standards. And for those who aren’t, sites like A List Apart and Digital Web (among others: Mezzoblue, Standards for Life, 456 Berea St., etc.) always have detailed, quality articles promoting standards.
About 3 years ago, I really began to focus on validating my markup. As a boring person who makes websites, I find satisfaction in standards. Satisfaction in knowing that I built a site how it’s supposed to be built, and then got a check mark at the end telling me I’m following the rules. It’s like getting every question right on a 200 question test—it just feels good. What I don’t get is how someone could be exposed to standards and ignore them. A web developer who really, truly likes what they’re doing (web development seems to be an area you choose to enter) should want to follow the rules. It’s the upmost important thing relating to the “correct way” to do their job. Everyone wants to be good at what they do; I don’t see why this effort falls short so often.
So, why not compile HTML in the browser based on the DTD, and not let the HTML render unless specific actions are taken? I know, that’s completely radical and unrealistic, but I don’t think I would have a problem with it. I’d even learn from it. It would take centuries for the new standards to propogate and be reflected in browser versions (they don’t even do it correctly as it is), but in a utopian world it would ensure that people do their jobs correctly. Then again, in a utopian world, we wouldn’t have to worry about this in the first place.
It’s like recycling – it sure does sound good, but when it comes down to rinsing out the milk jug, the majority simply doesn’t do it. The result? Waste gets landfilled or incinerated, causing the whole world to suffer. If more people would quit putting glass and plastic (<font> and <table>) in their trashcans (websites), we would all benefit. Seriously, though—there’s nothing attractive about a non-conforming-to-standards site, just like there’s nothing attractive about global warming. If you don’t (or at least try to) follow web standards, I suggest you clean up your act.
Chris Wednesday, 11 Oct, 2006 Posted at 04:23AM
Hey, I like tables :-) Seriously though, they have a very valid place in HTML. The problem is that for too long people have assumed that tables should be used for layout. Heck, I wish that were the real purpose, because you can make any standard n-column layout with tables basically just as fast as you can type the tags. Plus, IE will probably get it right the first time.
Unfortunately, tables don’t belong in the page layout world. There is
display: table, which actually works quite well, but it’s yet another standard that few browsers implement. I’d say all the web developers need to start boycotting ANY browser that doesn’t fully support CSS 2, but there are far too many developers that simply don’t care (or develop strictly for IE).Ryan Wednesday, 11 Oct, 2006 Posted at 05:23AM
Yeah, you’re right. They do have a valid place in HTML—I occasionally use them for forms (and things like the quick formatting guide to the right of the comment box). I was referring to layout. I get flashbacks of .NET datagrids, and trying to style them through that nasty table they generate. I felt like I had no options.
On a side note, the other day I listened to an interview of the IE7 team. As we all know, they have a massive audience to please. Among that audience is the developers. I never really thought about things this way, but they are stuck in a tight spot because all of their users want their sites to render exactly like it does in IE6 (even if there are hacks to make it work), and don’t care about standards. While the developers are raving about making IE7 work like other browsers, they aren’t the majority of the crowd.
Ultimately, if you can’t please everyone you should please the majority of your audience. However, doing that isn’t what’s right and I think they know that. So I guess I commend the IE team for taking the standards approach, knowing that a lot of their users may be unhappy because their hacked website doesn’t work correctly anymore. I don’t know much about how IE7 is coming along, though. We’ll see I guess.
Oh, and did you know that Dell doesn’t support other browsers? I had to order a new computer for work, and I couldn’t customize it because none of the options (dropdowns, check options, etc.) worked properly, and nothing would save. It’s always shocking to me when a major player is limited in that regard.