Standardizing new HTML features

Dave_Raggett (dsr@hplb.hpl.hp.com)
Tue, 27 Apr 93 12:34:39 BST


In a recent phone conversation, Tim Berners-Lee suggested I take over editing
a new DTD for extensions to the current HTML spec. Don't get worried - the
existing HTML tags will continue unchanged.

We need to pin down the HTML standard to place it on a proper footing as a
MIME content type. Many browsers now go beyond the current DTD and it is only
right that we update the DTD to reflect the best ideas. I hope to have a
preliminary draft available within a week or two to fire off discussions.
The aim is to evolve a consensus view of what extensions are appropriate
and which preserve the overall simplicity of HTML.

The features to consider include:

o nested lists (e.g. OL within UL, UL within DL, ...)
o embedded images with text flow etc.
o query forms
o tables
o other features ...

The DTD will be tested to ensure it conforms to the SGML standard. I also
would like to have software that allows you to check if your html documents
conform to the extended DTD (with nice warning messages). It would also be
very useful to collect guidelines for how clients should deal with bad HTML -
what rules of thumb people have found to be useful in practice ...

Regards,

Dave Raggett