HTML W3C Validation

I don't think Professor Drake mentioned anything about grading us on official W3C Validation Standards, but I thought it was something worth mentioning. For those who don't know, W3C sets standards for all Web coding depending on the DocType of your HTML document. They offer a service that let's you validate your HTML markup (or one that validates your CSS). As explained on the website, the validator "checks the markup validity of Web documents in HTML, XHTML, SMIL, MathML, etc. If you wish to validate specific content such as RSS/Atom feeds or CSS stylesheets, MobileOK content, or to find broken links, there are other validators and tools available." Many Web Development companies these days require that employees follow the standards explicitly. These standards are revised from time to time and vary based upon the DocType set at the top of the HTML document. Using 1.0 Strict is the most up-to-date and strictest standard set you can use. By following these standards, you can ensure that your site works across all browsers.

While browsing through some of the projects that different groups and individuals have been working on so far in our class, I noticed that most of them are not currently validating with the standards. For starters, a DocType must be declared in order for the validator service to even know what to validate. This other site called htmlhelp.com is great for deciding which DocType is best for your application. I personally like to use the most up-to-date strictest standards, but I guess you could technically use other versions, or transitional versions.

One of the only plugins I use via Firefox browser is the Web Developer add-on. This add-on adds a small toolbar across the top of the browser window that allows for a huge variety of developing tools, including the abililty to validate any page you're on through the W3C validation service. By selecting the Tools menu and choosing the "Validate HTML" option, a new tab/window is opened that takes the current page you're on and checks it according the DocType declared.




To read more about Web standards, check out W3C's articles, including this one about the definition of my DocType preference, strict 1.0. Best of luck to everyone!