HTML 4.01 or XHTML for university web pages?
Added on Monday 16 Jun 2003
Is there a case for using HTML 4.01 in a web publishing invironment like a university?
The argument for using HTML 4.01 rather than the 'more forward looking' but stricter XHTML 1 Transitional or XHTML 1.1 is not 'watertight' (however, the argument for using standard markup for web pages is - see the book 'Designing with web standards' by Jeffrey Zeldman for details of those arguments).
In a different environment with less users, more technically aware publishers, and tools that assist in the creation of standard markup, XHTML would probably be the best option. However given the current experise and tools in most universities, I suggest that advocating HTML 4.01 is a more practical option - for the following reasons:
HTML 4.01 Transitional is a standard that will not change - it is the final version of HTML. HTML is not about to become obsolete in the near future, so our documents will remain readable and usable for a long time to come.
If pages are written in standard HTML 4.01 Transitional, and style sheets are adopted for presentation and layout, it will be easier to upgrade and transform web pages for future needs and formats. It is expected that those who will need to learn the skills related to style sheets and standard markup will be people creating the templates, who already have good web publishing skills - not those adding the content to those templates (although they will also need to learn different skills)
The inventor of the Web, Tim Berners Lee:
"I think HTML 4.0 will be a standard which you will be able to read in 200 years time. There is so much HTML. There is also enough investment in it that any new format will have ways of moving an HTML website into that format." http://www.time.com/time/community/transcripts/1999/092999berners-lee.html
The designers of a university website have to design for many different hardware and software platforms and the huge variety of end user needs - so it is good to have at least one 'rock' to build on. At least you will have the best chance possible of the resulting site working on the users chosen hardware/software combination.
Given the level of expertise, tools and publishing systems that are available in a University environment it will probably be easier to create web pages that are HTML 4.01 Transitional compliant than XHTML compliant. XHTML has slightly different rules to HTML, and it is a bit more strict about what is acceptable and what is not. This is a good thing in many ways, but I am not sure we can expect all the web designers to update their learning immediately, and be more strict about their code - although I could be wrong.
If it turns out that the majority of people who are creating the sites in a university are happy to 'go the extra mile' and code their pages in standard XHTML (and know what that means), then I would not argue against them. However I would be surprised if I discovered that most of the people creating websites with a university are aware of the importance and impact of having a DTD (Document Type Declaration) at the top of their HTML pages.
The decision about whether to use HTML 4.01 or XHTML will also depend on the type of information being marked up, and its purpose; some information will gain a lot from greater attention to structure and intelligent labeling. General web pages created by individuals putting up course materials would benefit from more structure, but the extra work that this implies may prove to be too big a barrier until we get more helpful web publishing tools.
End of Internet Explorer develoment on the Mac
Kynn Bartlett on Maccessibility - among others - is reporting the end of Internet Explorer browser development on the Mac.
"This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, though -- near as I can tell, they'd stopped working on it anyway. "
Designing with Standards case study
The Web Standards Project points to a case study,
".. explaining the benefits gained by a single designer working alone as a result of following the spirit and letter of Web standards."