Re: DOCTYPE Question

G'Day Ted,

At 10:06 28/09/00 -0700, Ted Temer wrote:
>However, to the best of my knowledge and/or recollection--and other than
>stating which HTML version for the benefit of a Validator, specifically at
>W3--nobody has ever--in any way, manner or form--ever said WHY !!
>
>I mean a real, useful WHY. Not a simple, "It has to be there".

If you are relying on your audience to use "the big two browsers" - then it 
is not necessary.  If you anticipate enlightened browsers with totally 
different capabilities trying to interpret your documents correctly then a 
doctype statement is necessary.  XML documents in IE5 that contain a 
reference to a DOCTYPE *** will not *** display in the browser unless they 
are valid - similarly other browsers may not understand HTML unless a DTD 
is specified.

If you want an analogy, I've got a perfect one for you - JavaScript!!  How 
do the following code snippets compare:

<.SCRIPT>
<.SCRIPT Language="Javascript">
<.SCRIPT Language="Javascript1.1">

All of these are displayed equally by _my_ browsers, so why is the sense of 
adding the Language attribute ??  IMO a DOCTYPE is useful because it sets 
out what standard I am trying to write to. [disclaimer for the 
anal.retentive: yes, I know the Language attribute has been superceded - 
that's not my point here]

The USEFUL answer to your question is that it relies on the USER AGENT that 
is interpreting your information.  How important a doctype is to you 
depends upon your target audience and the purpose of your HTML document.

Chris
Chris Higgs <c.higgs(at)landfood.unimelb.edu.au>
Institute of Land and Food Resources
University of Melbourne http://www.landfood.unimelb.edu.au

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