Validating HTML 3.2 pages, like it’s 1997

Internet

HTML 3.2 & CGI Unleashed

Like any typical developer in 2014, I'm finding myself validating some HTML 3.2 documents. Unfortuantely, we're back to the old issue of conflicting DOCTYPE declarations.

The official W3C HTML 3.2 Reference Specification uses the following:

  <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">

This American university document suggests this:

  <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN//ENC">

Both of these will pass the W3C Validator, but with the following warning:

For this document, the information available was not sufficient to determine the parsing mode unambiguously, because [..] the Document Type (-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN) is not in the validator's catalog

On a hunch, I refactored it into this, and the validator was happy. The Web Design Group also recommends it:

  <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">

No need to lavish praise, your silent appreciation is more than enough. Unless, you want to put me on your webring or something.

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Ruben Schade is a technical writer and infrastructure architect in Sydney, Australia who refers to himself in the third person. Hi!

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