The issue probably comes from the fact that web browsers try to render HTML even if it’s not perfect. HTML isn’t super strict, so browsers will still display pages with small mistakes. There was a push to make HTML stricter with XHTML, which enforced rules like case-sensitive elements and closing tags, kind of like XML. But it didn’t really stick. Browsers had a hard time with those stricter rules, so HTML’s more relaxed approach stuck around. For some time I really tried to use XHTML when createing weh pages, but then I asked my self why all of the trouble when browsers don't follow the standards.
> which enforced rules like case-sensitive elements
That's a good thing. I don't miss the old days (~2000) of <HTML><BODY><P> etc. It's ugly to my eyes. Moreover, even today, it's legal to write <dIv></DIv>.
> Browsers had a hard time with those stricter rules
Nonsense; it's developers and amateur web designers who couldn't cope with XHTML. Browsers parse XHTML perfectly these days, because it's just an application of XML. Also, existing tools like Macromedia Dreamweaver didn't add XHTML export support; it only outputted HTML.
> I really tried to use XHTML when createing weh pages, but then I asked my self why all of the trouble when browsers don't follow the standards
Browsers do follow the standards in XHTML mode! My page documents the behaviors and the yellow screen of death. For me, it's worth the trouble because it helps me detect errors like invalid syntax and unclosed tags.
I was working remote before COVID. I'm not based in USA. Remote has given me opportunity to work with people that for sure would never come to my home country.
reply