Xhtml Software - ?To use quotes or not?

Mich

Jan 10 2006, 01:29 AM

I have gone over to W3C and W3 School to try to bring myself up to date on XHTML. When I use their on site validator, it just doesn't like all the quotation marks in the body of my work. I get a tremendous amount of errors all pointing at quotation marks in the body. I get the impression that using them is passe'. Is this true? Could somebody please tell me where I can get a HTML software that either doesn't use quotation marks, or has an option to not use them? I am currently using Cute HTML LE and cannot find an option to not use the quotes.

Tyssen

Jan 10 2006, 01:41 AM

Are you talking about " or " ? Are the quote marks in your actual content (e.g. "he said blah") or are they used in your tags (e.g. <input type="text" ... )?

jlhaslip

Jan 10 2006, 01:53 AM

Maybe post a bit of the xhtml code and the w3c validator message that applies? Or post the URL for us to view the source?

Mich

Jan 10 2006, 02:48 AM

QUOTE(Tyssen @ Jan 9 2006, 08:41 PM)

Are you talking about " or " ? Are the quote marks in your actual content (e.g. "he said blah") or are they used in your tags (e.g. <input type="text" ... )?

Never mind. It is lack of them that it is complaining about. It also seems that I have attributes in my HTML, that XHTML wants put in a ccs file. I run my stuff through CSE HTML Validator and it comes up clean. Their validator is really strict.

Error Line 13 column 27: an attribute value must be a literal unless it contains only name characters.
<BODY text="#d1a9d5" vLink=#808080 alink="#d1a9d5" link="#d1a9d5" bgColor="#0129" background="gardenia/gardenia_maincolor.jpg">
You have used a character that is not considered a "name character" in an attribute value. Which characters are considered "name characters" varies between the different document types, but a good rule of thumb is that unless the value contains only lower or upper case letters in the range a-z you must put quotation marks around the value. In fact, unless you have extreme file size requirements it is a very very good idea to always put quote marks around your attribute values. It is never wrong to do so, and very often it is absolutely necessary. (IT IS REFERING TO #808080 WHICH IS NOT IN QUOTES)

BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS ONE! Since when can't you put background in a table?
Error Line 17 column 77: there is no attribute "BACKGROUND".
<table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 width="100%" bgcolor="#D3C177" background="gardenia/gardenia_goldstrip.jpg" border=0>

go to W3C

click on the HTML Validator in left column under W3C AtoZ

Put your url in the appropriate box and see what you get. It is really scary.

Tyssen

Jan 10 2006, 03:24 AM

If you're designing in XTHML with a strict doctype, you can't have any background information in your HTML. You have to assign a class or ID to the table or cell instead and then put the background info in your CSS. It's not that scary really. Instead of

CODE

you'd do this:

CODE

<table id="whatever">

/* CSS */
table#whatever {
width: 100%;
background: #D3C177" url(gardenia/gardenia_goldstrip.jpg) no-repeat;
border: none;
border-collapse: collapse;
}

table#whatever td { padding: 1px; }

jlhaslip

Jan 10 2006, 03:29 AM

Must be something else happening there, because the w3schools has a sample here using a jpg as a background in xhtml.
What Doc type are you using, Mich?

Mich

Jan 10 2006, 08:04 AM

QUOTE(jlhaslip @ Jan 9 2006, 10:29 PM)

Must be something else happening there, because the w3schools has a sample here using a jpg as a background in xhtml.
What Doc type are you using, Mich?

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
BUT when I use the validator it says
This page is not Valid HTML 4.0 Transitional!
I am validating www.websetsbydonna.com/index.html

Tyssen

Jan 10 2006, 10:46 AM

QUOTE(Mich @ Jan 10 2006, 06:04 PM)

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
BUT when I use the validator it says
This page is not Valid HTML 4.0 Transitional!
I am validating www.websetsbydonna.com/index.html

Well, if having your page validate is important to you, you're gonna have to address the errors.
By the way, just a comment about this:

QUOTE

If you are behind a "FIREWALL" and the graphics are not showing, you may have to adjust your settings or take it down to view this site.

Who do you think is going to go to the trouble of turning their firewall off just to see graphics on your site? Why can't you get your graphics to view properly despite firewall settings? No-one else seems to have any trouble.

Mich

Jan 11 2006, 05:07 AM

QUOTE(Tyssen @ Jan 10 2006, 05:46 AM)

By the way, just a comment about this:
Who do you think is going to go to the trouble of turning their firewall off just to see graphics on your site? Why can't you get your graphics to view properly despite firewall settings? No-one else seems to have any trouble.

I have no idea why, but when I tried to pull up my site at a library in DeSmet, South Dakota, USA, last spring, the pages came up without the graphics on one of their puters, but when I tried another, everything was up fine. The librarian said they had a special Fire Wall on the first puter because that was the one they let young children use. So I assumed that was the problem and warned against it. It certainly isn't the fault of my graphics, if that is what you are implying. How could you possibly know that "no-one else" has any trouble? Hey, I am learning a lot from exchanges on this forum, perhaps you have another suggestion as to what the problem was. I am self taught and doing the best I can. I have a lot to learn about all this technology, but I am trying my best. Please don't rain on my parade. Thanks for the example of the css file. I guess I need to purchase a new web designing book, the one I have addresses css, but not xhtml.

jlhaslip

Jan 11 2006, 07:16 AM

That Library computer may have been firewalled, but I think probably they had images controlled on it to avoid 'Adult' material from coming through.
In Browsers, there are privacy and security settings which stop various features on the machine.
In a public setting, or if childen are using the computer, it might be a good thing.

On a Mac using IE5, select edit > preferences > security zones or ratings.
On a Windows 98se O/S using IE, select tools > internet options > security or content.
On Mozilla Browsers, edit > preferences > privacy&security > images

Where those settings are in the various browser, who knows?

Latest Entries

Mich

Jan 13 2006, 04:49 PM

QUOTE(Tyssen @ Jan 11 2006, 07:00 AM)

Well, no, actually it is. I can't see your graphics and I've looked on two different PCs with different firewall configurations. And when I paste the URL of one of your graphics into my browser I get a 404 - which means it doesn't exist on your server at that location.
I'm sorry if you think I'm 'raining on your parade' but you've got errors on your site that need addressing.

Tyssen
I made an adjustment in my cpanel. Try my site again and see if the graphics are coming up for you now. Others have checked it out and they can see everything fine. I don't seem to have a clue as to why they aren't coming through for you.
Web Sets by Donna

THANKS!

Mich

Jan 12 2006, 05:28 AM

QUOTE(jlhaslip @ Jan 11 2006, 11:50 PM)

By the way, did you solve the table background issue?

Well, I took the table out and used the background to tile the image instead. It still doesn't meet the standards at the W3C site, but I run it through a validator of my own and it passes just fine. W3C now says I can't have a background image statement in my Body content. Go figure. W3C wants everything in a css file instead in the html itself. Haven't learned that much about css yet so guess I will just be behind times until I can learn it.

jlhaslip

Jan 12 2006, 04:50 AM

Hmmm... this is getting more and more curious, because I migrated all over the "Web Designs by Donna" site and could't find a '404' anywhere. Even downloaded a set to have a look, but didn't raise any 404's.
One page had a big hole in it where the background colouring was absent, but a refresh brought it back, no troubles. My browser is old and tired, so it is just as likely that the flaw was at my end. It doesn't happen often, but it has happened before.

By the way, did you solve the table background issue?

Mich

Jan 12 2006, 04:29 AM

QUOTE(Tyssen @ Jan 11 2006, 07:00 AM)

Hmmm, I don't know what to tell you. I have a friend in southern Arabia that also cannot get my graphics to show. Exactly what does the 404 say? When I try the same thing I get a 404 that says I don't have permission to access the graphic. Let me check with somebody on here and see if I need to do something in my cpanel to solve the problem. You might also check jlhaslip's last post just above. Perhaps something in the browser is causing it.

Tyssen

Jan 11 2006, 12:00 PM

QUOTE(Mich @ Jan 11 2006, 03:07 PM)

So I assumed that was the problem and warned against it. It certainly isn't the fault of my graphics, if that is what you are implying.

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