Re: ISSUE-4 - versioning/DOCTYPEs

On 5/13/10 6:17 PM, Leif Halvard Silli wrote:
>> If the file has an HTML MIME type, then "XHTML syntax" doesn't make
>> sense.
>
> What does it mean that a file "has an HTML MIME type"? Do you mean,
> like, forever?

Well, typically when you open a file in an editor the editor has some 
idea of what format the file is in.  This is typically indicated by 
extensions, MIME types, magic numbers, etc.

Having a file with a .html extension would tend to mean you want it 
treated as an HTML file on most of the currently-popular desktop 
operating systems.

> The point with polyglot documents is that the MIME type can change.
> KompoZer handles polyglot XHTML editing already - and it does it in in
> text/html mode. What's the problem with that?

The fact that last I checked the relevant code couldn't actually 
usefully edit XML very well (though of course KompoZer could have local 
hacks to make it better).

> Most editors doesn't have an particular mode, however, since they are
> just text editors.

Hold on.  We were just talking about wysiwyg HTML/XHTML editors, no? 
Those are very much NOT text editors.

> But text editors have features such as autocomplete etc,
> and they need to know what kind of syntax to create.

Yep.  Then again, the text editor I use on a regular basis does make a 
quite clear distinction between HTML and XML modes.

> Editing in the XHTML MIME type doesn't guarantee polyglot syntax.

Neither does editing as HTML, right?  It sounds like editors need a 
polyglot mode.

>>> One could say that XHTML5 specifications are allowed to create DOCTYPEs
>>> for use in text/html
>>
>> If it's text/html, then XHTML5 has nothing to do with it.
>
> The polyglot spec is not your cup of tea then, I gather.

OK, let's back up.  If you're using a non-polyglot-aware HTML editor on 
what it thinks of as an HTML document your chances of ending up with a 
usable polyglot document are slim to none.  Likewise for a 
non-polyglot-aware X(HT)ML editor used on an XHTML document.

The only way to edit polyglot documents sanely is to have a polyglot 
mode that you put your editor into, right?  One in which it enforces the 
quite specific requirements polyglot documents have.

Are we on the same page that far?

-Boris

Received on Friday, 14 May 2010 23:06:27 UTC