Boris Zbarsky wrote:
Gus Richter wrote:
? Well, I won't contradict you, but if not the HTML guidelines,
which are the regulations which say that DIV (etc.) is block and
SPAN (etc.) is inline then?
You say that as if there necessarily is such a specification...
There is and in the HTML "specifications", specifically in the DTD
As David already pointed out, this isn't the same as the CSS inline and
block display types. It means something totally different.
As he also pointed out, correcting misinformation like this on what's
supposed to be a newsgroup for development of the layout engine is
getting a little tiring....
Please correct me if I have gone wrong somewhere.
Consider yourself corrected? ;)
Responses such as, "No, it's not" and "... this isn't the same ... It
means something totally different" just don't cut it. One usually
expects to hear *reasons why not*, *reasons why it's different* and
perhaps a *reference* of some kind. I expected some further
clarification, but since none are forthcoming I shall try once more.
In my previous posting, correcting "No it's not", I pointed out that:
The DTD is the authority which defines which type of element may be
contained in another given element.
The DTD is the authority which defines whether an element is block type
or inline type.
Now about, "HTML doesn't define its presentation..." and "not the same -
means something different":
Although HTML tries to separate presentation in favor of CSS, such as in:
<http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/global.html#block-inline>
It describes it as "formatting" for block/inline elements for HTML and
describes it as "rendering" as block/ inline for CSS and goes on to say
that CSS overrides the "conventional interpretation of HTML elements".
This "formatting" takes care of "conventional interpretation of HTML
elements" which is that generally, block-level elements begin on new
lines, inline elements do not. CSS, with the display property, can
override this "convention". HTML defines the basic presentation of
block/inline elements per convention and CSS is able to alter or
override this presentation and in fact extend it beyond that of
"convention" with the various display types available (in CSS).
CSS is meant to define presentation, but regarding block/inline (the two
basic content models in HTML), it actually only re-defines it from
HTML's basic formatting/presentation. No matter how the specification
pussyfoots around trying to separate presentation from HTML, the fact
remains that HTML defines the "default" presentation for block and
inline elements.
So, Tony's first response with, "It's all part of the definition of
HTML" was actually right about "how the *default* display type for an
element is determined". It is either block or inline and the HTML DTD
tells you which type every element is. This is what I believe the OP was
asking.
If the OP was interested to know the mechanics of how this was coded
into Gecko, then Eli and Jonas provided the answers.
Given my level of experience in Mozilla development, I do more reading
and less posting here, but given as to what I perceive to be a general
and basic question with an answer which did not sit right by me and that
Tony's follow-up question was basically ignored, I spoke up. I believe
that I have made my case clear and please don't catagorize this as
"misinformation" or "tiresome". As I said before - Please correct me if
I have gone wrong somewhere.
--
Gus
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