Scribd
Upload
81 views5 pages

Doctypes HTML

The DOCTYPE informs browsers about the markup language and version used in a document. It includes a definition identifying the language as HTML, XHTML, or HTML5 and a declaration specifying a DTD file with more information. Different DOCTYPEs exist for HTML 4.01 (strict, transitional, frameset), XHTML 1.0 and 1.1 (strict, transitional, frameset), and HTML5. Using the proper DOCTYPE ensures valid code and compatible rendering across browsers.

Uploaded by

nightmaya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
81 views5 pages

Doctypes HTML

The DOCTYPE informs browsers about the markup language and version used in a document. It includes a definition identifying the language as HTML, XHTML, or HTML5 and a declaration specifying a DTD file with more information. Different DOCTYPEs exist for HTML 4.01 (strict, transitional, frameset), XHTML 1.0 and 1.1 (strict, transitional, frameset), and HTML5. Using the proper DOCTYPE ensures valid code and compatible rendering across browsers.

Uploaded by

nightmaya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

About Doctypes

Though DOCTYPEs have been around in the web world since about
1999, only in the past few years have they started getting the kind of
respect and attention they were intended to have.

A DOCTYPE — also often referred to as a Document Type Definition,


or DTD, or sometimes even a Document Type Declaration (again,
DTD) — is a set of instructions in the top code of an HTML page that
tells a browser how to identify the type of code that the page was
written in as either HTML, XHTML, HTML5, or Frames.

More importantly, the DOCTYPE informs the browser how the


document should be interpreted as an application of the XML
programming language. XML, which stands for eXtensible Markup
Language, is an easily customizable programming language for the
communication of information and application services between
people and computers using structured and meaningful semantic
code.

By taking care to use the proper DTD on all your web pages, you can
improve the accessibility of your website while also ensuring that your
page code is valid.

The DOCTYPE is a line of code that gets added to the top of each
web page. The DOCTYPE must be placed at the top of the HTML
code, before the opening <html> tag, which uses the old HTML 4.01
Transitional DTD.

In addition to informing the browser which markup language the page


uses, the DOCTYPE associates an XML or SGML file with a DTD.
Before you learn about which DOCTYPE to use, take a look at the
code.

The DTD itself, whether it’s for an HTML-, XHTML-, or HTML5-based


page, is composed of two parts:

• Definition: The first half is the markup language identifier, which


matches the DTD type to the type of code used in the web
document.

• Declaration: The other half of the DTD specifies the URL of a


web-accessible text file that contains more information about that
DTD’s usage.

The W3C recommends that all HTML 4.01, XHTML, and HTML5 web
pages include a DOCTYPE specifying a DTD. They used to require
that Frameset pages use a DTD too, but those tags are now obsolete.
HTML 4.01 DOCTYPES
You can use three types of DTDs with HTML 4.01 on your pages. The
first can be used for most, if not all, of your pages because it tells
browsers to use the strictest, most accurate, standards-compliant
page rendering. Keep in mind, however, that it does require that the
HTML contain no coding errors or deprecated tags:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4
/strict.dtd">

The second HTML DTD should be used for pages that might contain
legacy code, deprecated tags, and possibly some minor coding
mistakes, all of which do not or cannot comply with strict DTD
guidelines. The transitional and loose settings tell browsers to be a bit
forgiving when interpreting any out-of-date tags and common code
blunders:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3
.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

The third, now obsolete HTML DTD was for HTML documents that
use frameset tags to display two or more pages within a single
browser window:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Frameset//EN" "http://www.w3.org
/TR/html4/frameset.dtd">

XHTML DOCTYPES
When working with XHTML code, you must choose the correct
XHTML DTD. You can choose from three kinds of DTDs when writing
XHTML 1.0 code. The first can be used for most or all of your XHTML
files that use CSS for page content presentation and adhere to the
strictest possible interpretation of standards-compliant code. Note that
with this DTD, the opening <html> tag is appended with
the xmlns attribute:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/T
R/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The second DTD is for XHTML files that might still contain styling and
presentation code within the file as well as certain tags and attributes
that the strict DTD disallows:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3
.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The third XHTML DTD was used for XHTML documents that included
frameset pages with XHTML syntax rules:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Frameset//EN" "http://www.w3.org
/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-frameset.dtd">

In addition to these DTDs, you find two other XHTML DTDs. Strict
XHTML 1.1 is a newer version of Strict XHTML 1.0 based upon the
modularization of XHTML:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml
11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

This DTD should be used only if you’re certain that you can comply
with the stricter coding requirements of this form of XHTML. In other
words, if you think you may need to use some coding hacks to get
your job done, don’t use it.
Likewise, the Mobile 1.0 XHTML is a DTD used to describe XHTML
code that’s been developed for wireless display.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD XHTML Mobile 1.0//EN" "http://www.wap
forum.org/DTD/xhtml-mobile10.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

HTML5 DOCTYPE
Surprisingly, the HTML5 DOCTYPE isn’t much of a DOCTYPE at all!
The main differences from HTML 4.01 and XHTML you’ll notice are
the use of all lowercase letters, the removal of a declaration of a URL
for DTD usage, and the lack of an attribute appended to the
opening <html> tag:
<!doctype html>
<html>

This simplification is mainly because, unlike HTML and XHTML,


HTML5 isn’t based on SGML (Standard Generalized Markup
Language), an international standard for markup languages.

HTML5 is now the current standard used by web design and


production professionals as browser and device support for it
continues to grow. To see whether your browser or device supports
HTML5, check out the test scores at The HTML5 Test.

You might also like