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Don't forget to add a doctype - add what? [w3.org]
List of Valid Doctypes [w3.org]
This pretty much describes me, "the browser assumes you’ve written old-fashioned, invalid markup and code per the depressing industry norms of the late 1990s."
That's me. I learned HTML the old fashioned way, by looking at other people's source code. I can't begin to imagine which kind of HTML it is. I try it and if it works I use it.
Would this be the code for me?
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
You will be amazed at the structural things you will learn about HTML simply by fixing minor validation errors. :)
I hand code everything as well and have used a doctype in my documents for 6 years now. Using a doctype (and validation) has made me more aware of what I'm actually doing. In the end I have become a better coder.
The attitude of "if it works, I use it and if it comes out on screen alright I don't care about anything else" really doesn't work with the web...
Actually, the problem is that it DOES work. If omitting </html> caused your entire document to fail in all browsers, then we wouldn't have a hodgepodge of would-be web designers spewing out code riddled with errors; we'd have people who know how to write code, and people who don't.
And as always, let's all keep in mind that we're members of a web design forum, and so we're in the minority (ironically) of people who put stuff on the web. Most people- even if they knew the consequences- would rather just have it not work on a Mac, or in Opera, or sans-Javascript, than be bothered to learn how to do it right... and they can't be blamed for not wanting to hire a web designer or buy a book on standards, because at the root, the web is (and should be) a place for everyone to exchange information and ideas- not another cha-ching industry where you're expected to "pay to play" if you want to post any content online.
annej, I think you'll find that you're probably not too far off from where you need to be in creating correct markup. Surf around for info on standards, doctype, etc, and i'm sure you'll be on top of your game in no time.
For details check out
Activating the Right Layout Mode Using the Doctype Declaration
[hsivonen.iki.fi...]
[edited by: encyclo at 9:39 pm (utc) on Mar. 25, 2006]
[edit reason] fixed link [/edit]
I see Doc types without the "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> at the end. Is it necessary?
Don't feel so bad about being an oldschool handcoder (me too.) Taking the steps to get up to speed is better than most do.