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Bug 14020 - HTML5+Microdata documents are not conforming HTML5 documents
Summary: HTML5+Microdata documents are not conforming HTML5 documents
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: HTML Checker
Classification: Unclassified
Component: General (show other bugs)
Version: unspecified
Hardware: All All
: P2 normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Michael[tm] Smith
QA Contact: qa-dev tracking
URL: http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/infrastr...
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2011-09-04 01:27 UTC by Leif Halvard Silli
Modified: 2015-08-23 07:07 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

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Description Leif Halvard Silli 2011-09-04 01:27:53 UTC
BACKGROUND: 
   The W3C Validator checks for 'Conforming HTML5 documents" [0a]. Whereas Validator.nu checks for  'Conforming documents' per the Living Standard [0b]. 

ISSUE: 
   The W3 validator's HTML5 conformance checker service currently does not discern between conforming HTML5 documents and conforming HTML5+Microdata  documents - for both of them, the validator emits the same stamp:

   "This document was successfully checked as HTML5!"

   This contradicts with the outcome of the HTMLWG's ISSUE-140 [1][2], after which HTML5' Extensibility section (see especially 'other applicable specifications' [3] and onwards]) makes it clear that a document which implements an applicable spec with HTML5-different semantics, is not a conforming HTML5 document. Which is exactly the situation we have in the case of HTML5+Microdata: When Microdata syntax is applied, a group of HTML5-invalid and HTML5-semantic-free attributes are changed into HTML5+Microdata-valid and HTML5+Microdata-semantic attributes.

   It is not against the HTML5 spec to perform conformance checking of an HTML5+Microdata profile - on the contrary. But it is against HTML5 for the validator to pretend as if documents augmented with Microdata syntax have been "successfully checked as HTML5" - they have not. It would however be in line with the spec to state that they have been "successfully checked as HTML5+Microdata".

   The W3 Validator should be brought in line with the HTML5 spec ASAP. The borders of the spec  - and its extensibility options, are two sides of the same coin. 

    I suppose that Validator.w3.org as a minimum must offer pure HTML5 conformance checking. And thus that HTML5+Microdata checking would be an additional conformance checking service. Howeveer, this bug can formally be solved in 2  ways: 

1. by starting to stamp HTML+Microdata documents as invalid.
    (This option also cover the possibility to start to offer separate
    conformance checking for HTML5 docs as well as 
    HTML5+Microdata docs.)
2. by halting to offer HTML5 conforance checking - and only offer
    HTML5+Microdata checking

The 1st option seems like the logical one. Given that there is an effort to join RDFa and Microdata [4], it might also - for the time being, be best to stamp Microdata as invalid instead of creating a new validation profile. [Which alludes to a third way to solve this bug: that  microdata/RDFa becomes part of HTML5.]

[0a] http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/infrastructure#conforming-html5-documents
[0b] http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/infrastructure.html#conforming-documents
[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2011Mar/0574#start574
[2] http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=9178
[3] http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/infrastructure#other-applicable-specifications
[4] http://www.w3.org/mid/4E04A795.5020609@arcanedomain.com
Comment 1 Michael[tm] Smith 2012-02-08 12:48:42 UTC
The Nu Markup Validator default checker supports both Microdata and RDFa and also has an option for HTML5-only checking, for those who want to opt-out of Microdata and RDFa altogether.