Re: Stumped!

>>>In a HTML document, please explain to me the difference.  The results
would be the same, so why the technicality?  If it's a heading fine, a
heading is nothing more than preformatted text isn't it?  So why would it
really matter if you used <.H3> or if you used <.FONT SIZE=3>.  Maybe if you
were doing something special with the page via scripting fine, but for the
standard ordinary web page I wouldn't think that such a differentiation
would matter.<<<

Good question, Peter.

The answer is that every document has a structure, which is defined by such
things as headers, paragraphs, footers, etc.  I am not talking necessarily
about the visible content here, but rather the virtual structure of the
document.  HTML documents, for instance, contain a HEAD section, a BODY
section, etc...and they also contain headers, footers, comments,
paragraphs...you get the picture.  Taken together, all these components make
up the document in question, even though not all are visible.

As professionals, one of our duties (is? should be?) that of defining and
preserving structural integrity.  While a visual browser may display a
bolded size 3 font and an H4 at basically the same appearance, it is quite
possible that another type of reader, such as a portable appliance or a
browser for the visually impaired, will treat these two markups different.
They might, for instance, totally ignore font sizes when rendering the
document, but use headers to delimit the display or organize the delivery of
the content.

Once again, we have returned to the issues of compatibility and
accessibility.  Anyone can make a few words display in larger, darker form
on a visual screen.  A professional can do this while maintaining the
integrity of the document as well.  Remember that the future of the Web goes
far beyond today's browsers and delivery methods...

D

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