Why are developers using XHTML to layout web pages? I don't understand this. XHTML is a great way to standardize code but standardization can also be accomplished using HTML Strict and Transitional DOCTYPES. XHTML is great for web applications but not web pages.
I work in a development firm and in all honesty, 90% of the HTML builders here don't understand or know squat about valid DOCTYPES more or less XHTML. They asked me to build out a site for them; I used HTML Strict as the DOCTYPE. Lo and behold, the other developers are looking at the CSS layout and the DOCTYPE while scratching their heads trying to understand.
I do my best to program using standards but it appears to me that in the real working world, DOCTYPES and Valid markup are not common practice. All these *newbies* that are learning using XHTML and so proud that their page validates the W3C validator, are missing the big picture in web development. XHTML is a tool to help standardize web development but in my opinion, does not provide the most flexibility for web design. Someone will argue this so feel free to contribute your thoughts.
XHTML is the current latest version of HTML, so it is can be called HTML 5.0
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Not really. XHTML is an extension to HTML designed to provide XML support.
"Please give us a simple answer, so that we don't have to think, because if we think, we might find answers that don't fit the way we want the world to be."
~ Terry Pratchett in Nation
Ok, so why use it???? HTML is more flexible for page layout; XML is more flexible for defining data. So what if it can render as XML. Why would someone want to parse an XHTML document as XML? The Javascript DOM can parse an HTML page just the same as an XML page. Why not just use XML alone...because browsers don't fully support XML integration?! Then the question again is, why use XHTML?
Personally, I haven't run into a reason to use XHTML yet, so I've stuck to HTML 4.01 Strict. If some day I find a reason to convert to XHTML, HTML Tidy can do the conversion quite easily and effectively for me.
"Please give us a simple answer, so that we don't have to think, because if we think, we might find answers that don't fit the way we want the world to be."
~ Terry Pratchett in Nation
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Originally Posted by pmusu
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