Validation Information
HTML 4.0.1, XHTML 1.0 ( W3C standards ):
HTML ( Hyper Text Mark-up Language ) is the language used to publish hyper text on the World Wide Web. It is a non-proprietary format based upon SGML ( Standard Generalized Mark-up Language ), and can be created and processed by a wide range of tools, from simple plain text editors - you type it in from scratch - to sophisticated WYSIWYG ( What You See Is What You Get ) authoring tools. HTML uses tags such as <h1> and </h1> to structure text into headings, paragraphs ( <p> and </p> ), lists ( <ul> and </ul> or <ol> and </ol> ), hyper text links ( <a href="css.html"> and </a> ) etc.
XHTML ( Extensible Hyper text Mark-up Language ) is a family of current and future document types and modules that reproduce, subset, and extend HTML, reformulated in XML ( Extensible Mark-up Language ). XHTML family document types are all XML-based, and ultimately are designed to work in conjunction with XML-based user agents ( like browsers and data base systems etc. ). XHTML is the successor of HTML and is used to bridge the gap between HTML and XML.
Historical progress of HTML:
Proposal ( 1989 ), Web launched ( CERN 1991 release WWW, SGML used, browsers; Cello, Viola, MidasWWW ), First HTML version ( 1992 ), 1.0 ( 1993, browser, NCSA's Mosaic ), 2.0 ( 1994, browser, Netscape, W3C formed ), HTML+ Proposal ( 1994 ), 3.0 ( extended version of HTML+, not standardized ), 3.2 ( the standard all browsers support ), 4.0 ( attempt to clean up HTML and move to an open standard ), 4.0.1 ( major bug fix release, preparation for XML support ).
More information on HTML and XHTML can be found at the W3C web page [http://www.w3.org/Markup/].
All web pages are tested to the XHTML 1.0 strict dtd. Because of a difference between authors and the W3C developers none of the cbcstuff pages will pass the validator, since all pages use the anchor property, "target" ( in content pages ), to open a new web page for all off site web pages.
The solution to the target problem, is to test each page to the XHTML 1.0 strict dtd and if the only errors detected are the use of the target property, then the page is considered in strict compliance. The document type declaration is then switched to transitional, so a test by the viewer will pass the W3C validator.
CSS 1.0, CSS 2.0 ( W3C standards ):
CSS 1 ( 1996 ) is a simple style sheet mechanism that allows authors and readers to attach style ( e.g. font, colors and spacing ) to HTML documents.
More information about CSS ( Cascading Style Sheets ) can be found on the page About CSS.
More information on CSS 1 can be found at the W3C web page [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS1-961217.html].
CSS 2 ( 1998 ) is a style sheet language that allows authors and users to attach style ( e.g. fonts, spacing and aural cues ) to structured documents ( e.g. HTML documents and XML applications ). By separating the presentation style of documents from the content of documents, CSS 2 simplifies Web authoring and site maintenance. CSS 2 builds on CSS 1.
More information on CSS 2 can be found at the W3C web page [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2/cover.html].
The cbcstuff pages use primarily CSS 1. However, several pages require a little of CSS 2. None of the newest browsers have complete CSS 2 support, but most support the basic structures. The browsers with the most problems are those still in development and all versions of Internet Explorer on both Windows and Mac platforms. For more details see the browser information page.
Watchfire's Bobby 4.0.1, Section 508, Disabilities Discrimination Act ( W3C WCAG, USA, and UK ):
Bobby is an application that test's a web site for W3C WCAG ( Web Content Access Guidelines ) compliance. Watchfire also provides compliance checking for US Government Section 508 Standards and the UK's Disabilities Discrimination Act.
These standards are meant to help web designers build web sites that reduce as much as possible the difficulty people with disabilities have at accessing information.
More information about Watchfire's Bobby approval can be found on Watchfire's web site at [http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/icon.jsp].
All web pages are written to meet the Priority 3 certification. In addition each page has many modifications to implement as many recommendations as possible. The main limitations to accessibility is the lack of browser support, the need to patch a web page to over come browser inconsistency, test software ( i.e. readers ) and people with disabilities to test the web site. The software for all this is expensive. The free validator on the Watchfire web site allows no more than one page per minute to be tested for 4.0.1 compliance ( the current version is 5.0 ) and the url must be given manually. This is very time consuming.
The Bobby 4.0.1 validator has one software programming error that I have encountered so far. The validator does not recognize the named anchor link ( i.e. <a name="css2"></a> ). Named anchor links are used to mark a place on a web page to scroll to when directed to by an anchor link ( i.e. <a href="css.html#css2">click here to read about CSS 2</a> ). A named anchor link has nothing to do with accessibility for a user and should be ignored by the validator.
The solution to this problem is just to ignore the error message. As far as I am concerned if a web page passes everything except for the Priority 2 named anchor link error message, then the page has passed validation.
Last modified April 14, 2004