What is XHTML?

I checked google and this page seems to be trying to say it but still
doesn't tell me:
http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#xhtml
So it lets people design new types of web presentation tools (like new
html tags?) in a way that can be easily standardized (and automatically
interpreted?). What I also have understood is that it's sort of a
database type format that allows relation many-to-many type
associations. It seems like it somehow takes whatever tricks the author
has up their sleeve and interprets that into plain old html pages. So
it's kind of a programming language like java where trickier things can
be done and the browser knows how to read the script. In this canse I
guess it must be limited to things that would not pose a security risk,
such as simply presenting information but not effecting your machine in
any way like java will do.

Am I understanding this?

Any examples of tricky things that could be done such as database
manipulation?

Paul Furman

Paul Furman wrote:
> I checked google and this page seems to be trying to say it but still
> doesn't tell me:
> http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#xhtml

It says at the top of the page: "A Reformulation of HTML 4 in XML 1.0".

That's what most people use it for: As a slightly updated version of HTML.

Whether you actually do all the 'wonderful' things that you could do
because XHTML is also XML, is up to you.

So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML things,
there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.


Matthias

Matthias Gutfeldt wrote:

> Paul Furman wrote:
>
>> I checked google and this page seems to be trying to say it but still
>> doesn't tell me:
>> http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#xhtml
>
>
> It says at the top of the page: "A Reformulation of HTML 4 in XML 1.0".
>
> That's what most people use it for: As a slightly updated version of HTML.
>
> Whether you actually do all the 'wonderful' things that you could do
> because XHTML is also XML, is up to you.
>
> So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML things,
> there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
> cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.


OK so I guess I've got the general idea. Sounds like nobody is really
using it yet. I can't find any example that looks special or does
obvious database cartwheels. It seems to have more to do with custom
database applications in web format than presentation formatting. I'm
not clear what XML does that an SQL database doesn't do with server side
scripting. Maybe that it contains it's own scripting so the database can
be queried without stressing the server's machinery?

"Paul Furman" <> wrote in message
news:TO6cnRme37evdKHd3czS-...
> Matthias Gutfeldt wrote:
>
> > Paul Furman wrote:
> >
> >> I checked google and this page seems to be trying to say it but still
> >> doesn't tell me:
> >> http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#xhtml
> >
> >
> > It says at the top of the page: "A Reformulation of HTML 4 in XML 1.0".
> >
> > That's what most people use it for: As a slightly updated version of
HTML.
> >
> > Whether you actually do all the 'wonderful' things that you could do
> > because XHTML is also XML, is up to you.
> >
> > So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML things,
> > there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
> > cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.
>
>
> OK so I guess I've got the general idea. Sounds like nobody is really
> using it yet. I can't find any example that looks special or does
> obvious database cartwheels. It seems to have more to do with custom
> database applications in web format than presentation formatting. I'm
> not clear what XML does that an SQL database doesn't do with server side
> scripting. Maybe that it contains it's own scripting so the database can
> be queried without stressing the server's machinery?

XML provides a way of handling data at the client side that can be reused or
distributed. XML is *not* for layout, purely for data. You then use XSL to
format that data (stylesheets basically).

XHTML is a more "perfect" version of HTML. It forces all tags to be closed
with />, and is much less forgiving of the sort of cludges and fixes used in
HTML. XHTML *is* used for layout (structure) while CSS is used to format
objects inside that structure.

Example; you can have an XHTML page that contains dynamic data (XML) that is
fed from a SQL database. You could then happily have a portable web aware
device (such as a PDA, cellphone, games console, whatever...) read that
page - it would read the data (XML) totally independently from any screen
"design", meaning that your content is readable anywhere, any how on any
platform. It's a way of totally separating data (content) from design. XML
is definatly the future. There are lots of web sites already doing this,
have another look around.

One word of caution with XML; Internet Explorer has fairly ropey support,
while all the rival browsers seem to support it fully. While it works most
of the time, it's essential XHTML/XML site are tested on as many platforms
as possible while you're building sites... it's way less forgiving if you
get it wrong!

"Firas D." <fd-nospam-@firasd.org> wrote in message
news:c1iq5c$1ivd0l$...
> Matthias Gutfeldt wrote:
> > So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML things,
> > there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
> > cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.
>
> I can tell you from experience that talking about XHTML is a serious
> turn-off for girls, even the geeky sort

depends on the girl honey

Matthias Gutfeldt wrote:
> So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML things,
> there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
> cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.

I can tell you from experience that talking about XHTML is a serious
turn-off for girls, even the geeky sort

"Matthias Gutfeldt" <say-no-to-> wrote in message
news:c1iicv$1i8rkc$...
> Paul Furman wrote:
> > I checked google and this page seems to be trying to say it but still
> > doesn't tell me:
> > http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#xhtml
>
> It says at the top of the page: "A Reformulation of HTML 4 in XML 1.0".
>
> That's what most people use it for: As a slightly updated version of HTML.
>
> Whether you actually do all the 'wonderful' things that you could do
> because XHTML is also XML, is up to you.
>
> So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML things,
> there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
> cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.
>
>
> Matthias

XHTML and XML are two different things.

XHTML = replacement of HTML, better structured, easier to code and read,
less likely to explode

XML = way of handling data regardless of browser, platform or physical
hardware being used to read that data.

"Els" <> wrote in message
news:403cec83$0$41752$ i.nl...
>
>
> SpaceGirl wrote:
>
> > "Firas D." <fd-nospam-@firasd.org> wrote in message
> > news:c1iq5c$1ivd0l$...
> >
> >>Matthias Gutfeldt wrote:
> >>
> >>>So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML
things,
> >>>there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
> >>>cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.
> >>
> >>I can tell you from experience that talking about XHTML is a serious
> >>turn-off for girls, even the geeky sort
> >
> > depends on the girl honey
>
> And on the way you talk about it of course.
> Some guys can bore a girl even talking about clothes and
> food
>
> --
> Els

LOL yes.

SpaceGirl wrote:

> "Firas D." <fd-nospam-@firasd.org> wrote in message
> news:c1iq5c$1ivd0l$...
>
>>Matthias Gutfeldt wrote:
>>
>>>So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML things,
>>>there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
>>>cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.
>>
>>I can tell you from experience that talking about XHTML is a serious
>>turn-off for girls, even the geeky sort
>
> depends on the girl honey

And on the way you talk about it of course.
Some guys can bore a girl even talking about clothes and
food

--
Els

Sonhos vem. Sonhos vão. O resto é imperfeito.
- Renato Russo -

SpaceGirl wrote:
> "Firas D." <fd-nospam-@firasd.org> wrote in message
> news:c1iq5c$1ivd0l$...
>
>>Matthias Gutfeldt wrote:
>>
>>>So unless your project actually requires all those wonderful XML things,
>>>there's no real reason to use XHTML apart from the fact that it's hip,
>>>cool, and gets you all the girls, of course.
>>
>>I can tell you from experience that talking about XHTML is a serious
>>turn-off for girls, even the geeky sort
>
>
> depends on the girl honey
>
>
Maybe I've only discussed it on IM, and got some of the 'you need to
get out more' innuendo..

(Someone should try this: "baby, I'm a strict XML parser, and you've got
no unescaped ampersands!")