Say hello to XHTML 1.1!

Say hello to XHTML 1.1!
Ed Tittel

On May 31st, the W3C released a new specification for XHTML called "XHTML 1.1 - Module Based XHTML." As the name of this new specification suggests, this new formulation for XHTML is strongly based on the XHTML Modularization finalized in April of this year (http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-xhtml-modularization-20010410).

In simple terms, here's how to understand XHTML 1.1. This new version is nearly exactly equivalent to the version of XHTML 1.0 defined by the so-called Strict DTD. In fact, Appendix A of the XHTML 1.1 Specification (http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/changes.html#a_changes) describes the differences between XHTML 1.1 and XHTML 1.0 Strict as follows (emphasis below is mine):

For more information about XHTMLMOD, please visit http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-xhtml-modularization-20010410; for more information about Ruby, please visit http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-ruby-20010531/.

OK, now for the fun part. What does this really mean? Here are my interpretations:

By far, the biggest changes are the elimination of deprecated elements and attributes plus mandatory use of modularization. Accommodating these changes will take effort and initiative to convert XHTML 1.0 or HTML documents to meet these requirements. Dave Raggett's HTML-Tidy will help you get some (and in many cases) most of the way there, but this will make for some interesting efforts for those who wish to keep

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up with the latest and greatest W3C requirements. But only you and your organization can decide if that effort should be undertaken, postponed, or avoided altogether. In a future tip, I'll explore the pros and cons of these various possible approaches.

Send an e-mail to Ed at tips@searchmiddleware.com if you have questions on this or other XML topics.

Ed Tittel is a principal at LANWrights, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of LeapIt.com. LANWrights offers training, writing, and consulting services on Internet, networking, and Web topics (including XML and XHTML), plus various IT certifications (Microsoft, Sun/Java, and Prosoft/CIW).

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Related Book

XHTML 1.0 Language and Design Sourcebook: The Next Generation of HTML
Author : Ian S. Graham
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Published : Apr 2000
Summary :
In XHTML 1.0 Language and Design Sourcebook, Ian Graham focuses on the needs of Webmasters and Web designers. Writing from a design-oriented point of view, he uses a wealth of real-life examples to introduce readers to the basics of HTML/XHTML and to acquaint them with XHTML's powerful new array of features. He explores the principles of good document design, shows them how to work effectively with graphics and images, and educates them in the principles of strategic site design.