XHTML
How the web was born
HTML was originally developed by Tim Berners-Lee. It was created to make documents available to a wide variety of computers. He also created HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), the underlying machinery of the World Wide Web.
Enter XHTML
XHTML is an acronym for Extensible Hypertext Markup Language. XHTML is HTML defined as an XML application. It is supposed to replace HTML. XHTML is a stricter form of HTML. No more sloppy code. Extensible means it capable of being extended, in other XML applications for the Internet, as well as standalone programs. Semantic Web applications will be able to take advantage of XHTML documents. XHTML is a leaner and cleaner version of HTML. One advantage to having cleaner code means that pages should download faster. It also makes for easier updates, as the code is easier to read, and less cluttered. XHTML is coming to a browser near you, so you may as well learn it now, before XHTML 2.0 arrives. To stay current, websites should start using XHTML now.
XHTML Syntax Rules
There are a few differences between HTML and XHTML.
- Element and attribute names must be in lower case
- Attribute values must be quoted
- Attribute minimization is forbidden
- For nonempty elements, end tags are required: <img />
- Empty elements need an extra space: <br /> <hr />
- Ampersands must be escaped: &
- The id attribute replaces the name attribute
- The XHTML DTD defines mandatory elements
HTML Tidy
The premier tool for cleaning up your code, and making it validate is HTML Tidy. It's an Open Source utility (that means it's free)that will parse and correct incorrect syntax. To validate your web page, you can use the W3C's Markup Validation Service. You can validate by URL or File Upload. It's a great service, and again, it's free.
LINKS
Here are some great XHTML links
Happy coding!
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