[Bug 11360] New: Document.compatMode semantics not specified

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=11360

           Summary: Document.compatMode semantics not specified
           Product: HTML WG
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: All
        OS/Version: All
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: HTML5 spec (editor: Ian Hickson)
        AssignedTo: ian@hixie.ch
        ReportedBy: glenn@skynav.com
         QAContact: public-html-bugzilla@w3.org
                CC: mike@w3.org, public-html-wg-issue-tracking@w3.org,
                    public-html@w3.org


In Section 3.1.3, Document.compatMode is specified to evaluate to "CSS1Compat"
or "BackCompat", which are said to correspond to "no-quirks mode" and "quirks
mode", respectively. However, the semantics (meaning) of these two values/modes
is nowhere defined in the specification. Therefore, there is no utility to this
attribute and it should be removed; alternatively, the semantics of these two
modes needs to be fully spelled out.

Further, the prose refers to a "limited-quirks mode", but does not define
either a corresponding string value or a meaning of this mode.

Finally, it is stated that "The mode is only ever changed from the default by
the HTML parser, based on the presence, absence, or value of the DOCTYPE
string." However, there is no indication of how the presence, absence, or value
of the DOCTYPE string corresponds to these three modes, nor when the HTML
parser would mutate the value of compatMode. [It is also curious how DOCTYPE
could be related to CSS1 compatibility.]

Regards,
Glenn Adams

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Received on Saturday, 20 November 2010 17:22:26 UTC