XHTML vs HTML

G

gjb

I have been maintaining a web site for several years now. I am currently
using FrontPage 2003. The company that owns the site hired a marketing firm
who has told my client the site needs to be redesign using XHTML and HTML no
longer cuts it.
So I have 2 questions to the group
1- Is there any validity to their statement?
2- will FrontPage 2003 support XHTML? I don't see it as an option.

Thank you

g
 
M

Murray

1- Is there any validity to their statement?

As a general statement, no. If the company has specific plans to integrate
XML/XSLT into their site, then yes, it does, but aside from that specific
need, this marketing company has no clue. HTML4.01 will continue to be the
predominant type of HTML used on the web for many years yet.
2- will FrontPage 2003 support XHTML? I don't see it as an option.
Click to expand...

Yes, it will.
 
K

Kevin Spencer

1- Is there any validity to their statement?
As a general statement, no. If the company has specific plans to
integrate XML/XSLT into their site, then yes, it does, but aside from that
specific need, this marketing company has no clue. HTML4.01 will continue
to be the predominant type of HTML used on the web for many years yet.
Click to expand...

I have to take issue with some of this. While HTML 4.01 will continue to be
the predominant type of HTML *on* the web for many years yet, it will not be
the predominant type of HTML used for new development in a couple of years.

XHTML has a number of qualities that make it far superior to HTML, and which
will eventually lead to the demise of traditional HTML on the web.

First, it is XML. There are any number of implications that can be drawn
from this simple fact. XML is, by definition, "eXtensible." XHTML is also
eXtensible, which is not exactly the case with HTML. Second, because it is
XML, it is strict. The rules for creating and/or parsing XHTML are and will
continue to be simple. Third, because it is XML, it can easily be
transformed using XSL from and into virtually *any* other data format. This
is a huge plus, as one of the biggest difficulties that many companies on
the Internet face is translating their data from an in-house format, such as
Word documents, database data, text files, etc. XHTML can be generated
automatically from such formats, and transformed into such formats.

Consider the next generation of Microsoft Office. All Office documents will
be embracing an XML format. See
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/developers/fileoverview.mspx for
more detailed information. To quote the opening paragraph of this page,
"Distinct from the binary-based file format that has been a mainstay of past
Microsoft Office releases, the new Office XML Formats are compact, robust
file formats that enable better data integration between documents and
back-end systems. An open, royalty-free file format specification maximizes
interoperability in a heterogeneous environment, and enables any technology
provider to integrate Microsoft Office documents into their solutions."

Microsoft SQL Server has been embracing data in XML format for aseveral
years now, and SQL Server 2005 has much built-in support for XML. Visual
Studio.Net 2005 is set by default to use XHTML for developing ASP.Net 2.0
applications.

And this is not just happening at Microsoft. XML is fully interoperable, and
is being embraced worldwide for all sorts of things. Recently I began
researching the emerging standards for Geospatial information systems, at
the Open Geospatial Consortium web site (http://www.opengeospatial.org/).
GML (Geography Markup Language) is a flavor of XML for describing geographic
data. The W3C (http://www.w3.org/) is constantly adding new flavors of XML
to their list of standards.

So, while it may or may not be necessary for a company to convert their web
site to XHTML, depending upon the current and anticipated requirements, in
some cases it is certainly a good idea. Therefore, there may indeed be some
validity to this marketing form's statement.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
We got a sick zebra a hat,
you ultimate tuna.
 
M

Murray

I disagree. XHTML is going to change dramatically in the next several
years. The only advantage to using it now is that you will train yourself
to think about something beyond HTML.

When XHTML 2 is finalized, all current XHTML sites will have to be rebuilt
anyhow.

Whatever - it's up to you. But the marketing company who gave you the
information that HTML doesn't cut it anymore is nuts.
 
K

Kevin Spencer

When XHTML 2 is finalized, all current XHTML sites will have to be rebuilt
anyhow.
Click to expand...

Not at all. Remember, we're talking about XML here. First, you have a
mandatory DTD, and the browsers can and will be able to use the DTDs.
Second, you have the ability to automatically transform from one format
(such as XHTML 1 to XHTML 2) using XSLT. Try doing that with HTML!

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
We got a sick zebra a hat,
you ultimate tuna.
 
M

Murray

Try doing that with HTML!

True enough. So tell me again (bearing in mind that IIS6 doesn't serve
XHTML pages correctly) what are the benefits to coding now with XHTML (other
than the academic ones)? 8)
 
M

MD Websunlimited

I have to agree with Kevin.

The new design tools that MS has released, ASP.net 2.0 are all XHTML out of the box by default. There is also an entire line of new
design tools coming that will require XHTML -- the MS web site concerning the MIX conference and the new tools that will be
previewed.

It wasn't long ago that this same discussion was being debated about DHTML and CSS.

To gjb, while I believe the marketing company is trying to impress your management I do believe that they are correct in that
anything new add to your company web site should be geared to XHTML and ASP.net 2.0
 
K

Kevin Spencer

True enough. So tell me again (bearing in mind that IIS6 doesn't serve
XHTML pages correctly) what are the benefits to coding now with XHTML
(other than the academic ones)? 8)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call those reasons "academic." To many companies, they add up to
lots of saved bucks, in terms of man-hours spent converting data, and/or
updating pages.

I was simply saying that it is not true to say that the original statement
lacked any validity. I was not recommending that everyone should switch to
XHTML. And I think you missed the point of the marketing group the OP spoke
of. Depending upon their reasons, they may well have been spot on in their
requirement. I don't believe they were saying that HTML "no longer cuts it"
for all purposes, but for their requirements. Of course, one might interpret
that hearsay characterization on the part of the OP in any of several ways.
Perhaps we heard it differently, and only the OP knows what they really
said.

At any rate, they are the client, and the client gets what the client wants,
unless the vendor is certain of some logical reason for refuting what the
client wants, and is able to convince the client of the logic of his/her
argument. And, of course, the rewrite means more money to the vendor!

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
We got a sick zebra a hat,
you ultimate tuna.
 
C

clintonG

I would have been the first to reply to the OP and I'm glad I whacked my
comments and decided to stay out of this until tonight but I will say on the
basis of my own experience with "outsiders" intruding on my relationships
with clients I have worked with that it is very likely you -- gjb -- will
soon become "that guy who used to do our web for us."

If you can't raionally argue why XHTML should or should not be persued and
in which context -- and there are very good reasons for both sides of that
argument -- you need to wise up and decide how to respond to the impending
doom.

<%= Clinton Gallagher
METROmilwaukee (sm) "A Regional Information Service"
NET csgallagher AT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://metromilwaukee.com/
URL http://clintongallagher.metromilwaukee.com/
 
K

Kevin Spencer

That was exactly my concern, Clinton. I have locked horns with clients
(very) occasionally, but only when I knew I was right, and that the client
was shooting themself in the foot. Even then I even more occasionally was
the one to back off from the job, because I wasn't willing to do something
that would bring the client to ruin. My clients never walked away from me as
a result.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
We got a sick zebra a hat,
you ultimate tuna.
 
P

p c

The questions to ask the client (hmm..,marketing company) are:
1. What are the goals for this web site currently that the current
design with HTML does not meet?

2. What benefits and costs will a redesign the site using XHTML bring.

I can see benefit of transitioning to XHTML, or when specific advantages
are needed. I don't see a re-design for the purpose of redesign adding
value to the goals of the site.

A statement of "HTML no longer cuts it" means nothing.

...PC
 
K

Kevin Spencer

A statement of "HTML no longer cuts it" means nothing.

Remember that this was a statement from the OP, not necessarily from the
client (hmmm.., marketing company), and that the statement itself,
regardless of origin, could be interpreted in any of several ways, depending
on the context and audience perception (as we've seen!). So I would want to
know what was originally stated and what it was meant to imply before I made
any judgments about the merits of the conversion demanded.

And if I was getting paid to do the work, heck, all I'd want to know is,
when do I get paid?

--
;-),

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
We got a sick zebra a hat,
you ultimate tuna.
 
M

MD Websunlimited

IMHO, it comes down to one thing ROI. There has to be some return in either real or unreal dollars.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads

HTML or XHTML 1
Modify default HTML template 1
converting html to xhtml in expressions web 3
The convertToXHTML method in the SDK, does not work! 0
FrontPage 2002 and XHTML 3
How to password protect Form web pages 22
whats wrong with &copy; 2
Viewing HTML Source Code 1

Top