Bryan Newell wrote: >>>>And W3C's validator couldn't even parse your site: >>>>http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fbryann.net%2F >>>> >>>> >>>Validators can't parse my site, because I generate all html "on the fly" >>>using cgi-bin executables. >>> >>> >>That doesn't matter; they simply make an http connection to the site >>and look at the content delivered. My dynamic sites validate fine >>(except when they don't, when I've got something screwed up). >> >> > >Interesting. I swear I tried validating it before, and it couldn't see the >html unless I saved it as a .html file first. Perhaps it was a different >validator, or perhaps I'm just forgetful. > >I see now, however, that you are correct; I tried running the link above, >and it errors out because there is no DOCTYPE declared on my page. > >I hadn't realized that was a fatal error... It certainly isn't fatal in any >of the browsers I've used. Is that only required so the validator knows HOW >to validate your html? Or are browsers also supposed to reject your page if >it doesn't have a DOCTYPE declared? > >Anyone know? > > I'm not exactly an authority on the subject, but this is what I know: Not having a doctype declaration isn't a fatal error per se, but if you want to validate your html, you need to be able to tell the validator which specification you're trying to validate against. Also, doctypes are essential to the proper rendering and functioning of web documents in W3C-standards-compliant browsers. If you don't include a doctype, most browsers go into quirks mode in an attempt to divine what you are trying to do (Opera is an exception; it always tries to render pages in standards-compliant mode). In quirks mode, browsers try to render pages in a backwards-compatible way, rendering CSS the way browsers did in the early 90s (i.e. badly if at all) and generally not doing what you expect them to do. Further, quirks modes between browsers are different, so your pages may vary greatly in how much they don't look like what you wanted, depending on the browser. Using a proper doctype for browsers that comply with W3C standards should theoretically render pages the same way across all browsers, but buggy support and constantly evolving standards make this difficult sometimes. Jose -- Jose Marquez \ Cthulhu 2004 jhereg69 at earthlink.net \ Why vote for http://home.earthlink.net/~jhereg69 \ the lesser evil?