HTML or XHTML?

[sclewin]

I find this topic confusing. I have read in several places that XHTML is suppose to be the future and that you should design web pages using that, but, then I notice other people saying that HTML is still the standard because it is used much more than XHTML and supported much better. To add to that is that HTML 5 is in development. If HTML is dead, why is there a new version coming out?

[kkenny]

I don't know
XHTML is just basically reformed html, nothing really different about it other than W3C classifies it differently and it has a couple more restrictions than normal HTML does.

XHTML has no proprietary code such as

<center></center> <marquee></marquee>

and a few other codes. XHTML suggests that you instead use

<div style="align:center;"></div>

something like that, or use CSS instead of using "proprietary code"


XHTML also requires you to end some of your codes
like this:

<img src="http://forums.x10hosting.com/programming-help/xxx" />

not this:
[CODE]
<img src="xxx">

XHTML also requires every tag and attribute be lowercase
Not acceptable:

<ImG sRc="xXx" />

Acceptable

<img src="xXx" />

XHTML also has some strict standards on spacing, like
Acceptable

<img src="xxx" />

Not acceptable

< img src = " xxx " />

And those are the main ones I can think of.

[LHVWB]

I must say that I prefer XHTML, but mainly because I think that it makes sense to be more restrictive in terms of what you can do with html, I follow the idea that you should use separate css documents to give your website the actual color/theme/style, the XHTML to me is just a general layout.

Its not really that different from HTML, but its moving towards a more 'semantic' web, where you have less things defined in the html, and more in css and 'xml'. XHTML also makes it easier for machines to go through the code, because it removes those annoying mistakes that kkenny pointed out.

[marshian]

I also prefer to use XHTML, because it forces you to keep a structure in a document. For example, the code

<i><b></i></b>

Is valid HTML, while this is not allowed in XHTML.

Also, there's nothing 'new' in XHTML compared to HTML, every tagname, etc remains the same, so any browser that knows HTML shouldn't have too much troubles to read XHTML.

[TechAsh]

I normally use HTML 4.01 Transitional but I think I could switch to XHTML without doing much re-coding because I'm always careful to close tags in the right order etc.

[callumacrae]

I use XHTML usually.

Acceptable

<img src="xXx" />

You've got to have an alt in all images

[TechAsh]

*Moved to Crossfire where it belongs*

[DeadBattery]

I normally use HTML. The reason why is because that is what I first learned. (Out of an old book which was ancient)

[tnl2k7]

XHTML is much easier to read and the newest standard. It encourages good coding practice, and results in better standards-based pages. Why not use it?

-Luke.

[mattura]

xhtml is simply neat html.

If you write neat html, you are probably pretty much in the xhtml mindset.