RE: Why Doesn't IE5 use the DTD to Validate?

Subject: RE: Why Doesn't IE5 use the DTD to Validate?
From: "Didier PH Martin" <martind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 10:57:01 -0500
HI Paul,

<YourComment>
I'm not sure what you mean here. Consider:

<!ELEMENT FOO (BAR, BAZ)>

...

<FOO><BAZ/><BAR/></FOO>

The tree does not conform to the DTD but it is not ambiguous. In the face
of errors IE5 should give you exactly the same parse tree that a
well-formed only parser gives you.

> c) If people want validation, they will make valid documents. If they
> don't, they will make well formed documents.

I would usually agree with you but in this case there is a bug in the XML
spec. that causes a problem. If you have a DTD only in order to specify a
single defauled attribute or entity then that document becomes well-formed
by *not valid*. There is no concept of "has a DTD but is not meant to be
valid" or "conforms to the declarations that are available but the
declaration are not complete."

If you look at the "Element Valid" validity constraint you will see that
an element is only valid if its element type is declared and all of its
child elements are also of types that have been declared.

I propose a processing instruction that says that a document has a DTD but
is not meant to be valid.

<?xml:not-valid?>

Then validating applications would treat it as if it were just
well-formed.
</YourComment>

<Reply>
Thanks Paul. This is also an other good idea that could be easily
implemented.

a) it does not require a modification to the actual specs.
b) Could be documented as a supplementary note like we have today for
associating a style sheet to a XML document.
c) Also, because the role of a PI is precisely to give processing
instructions to the interpreter.

This is also independent of the document structure and more related to the
document's interpretation. there where a hole in the specs (naturally we
cannot expect the authors to think of any conceivable situation) or even
more, the specs intention is not to specify waht do we do with docuements
but to say how documents are formatted. Now we are at the stage where the
_how_ becomes important. From now on, we have to find an evolution path from
the specs already out :-)
</Reply>

Regards
Didier PH Martin
mailto:martind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.netfolder.com


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