I'm glad that you mentioned CSE HTML Validator is not a real validator. That
is true, but only in the strict technical sense of the word validator (but
not in common usage, by the way). I don't, and never did, dispute that. The
good thing about non-real validators is that they are able to find problems
that a "real" validator can't, thus making them MUCH MORE USEFUL in many
ways. They can provide helpful advice and tips, and can be much more
helpful. Some (like CSE HTML Validator) can check CSS, spelling, and
accessibility, all quickly and easily. Furthermore, many of them can be
configured to a much greater degree according to what the web developer
wants.
As for the problems "real" validators miss like the W3C HTML Validator, see
http://www.htmlvalidator.com/htmlval...eisbetter.html
While real validators can certainly be helpful, there are other checkers
that can be just as, if not more useful. They can be used with a real
validator if the end user so desires. So while someone can use our product,
they certainly aren't limited to using it. There are other tools available
too that provide useful checks, like HTML Tidy, which some people like. But
I can say that thousands of people use and like the high level degree of
syntax checking that CSE HTML Validator provides. For many, it makes
checking pages a lot better and easier and it finds more problems.
There's a misbelief is some groups that people should ONLY use a real
validator because that's the only "good" way to check a document. That is
completely false! A real validator can be helpful, but it is by no means
proof that a document is problem-free. There are many HTML and real-world
issues that a real validator will completely ignore and is incapable of
checking for. See the above link for examples.
As for including a "real" validator, I get virtually zero requests for one.
I have thought about it, but don't think it would be too useful, other than
to satisfy the people who complain about the name all the time. Now, if
someone were to assist me in adding a "real" validator, then I could
potentially justify the time needed to do so. Please contact me if you're
interested and are knowledgeable in the available command line tools for
real DTD based validation. I have integrated HTML Tidy into CSE HTML
Validator and it may be possible to integrate a "real" validator in as well
should enough people want one to justify it or should it be easy enough to
add.
--
Albert Wiersch
http://www.htmlvalidator.com/
"Andy Dingley" <di*****@codesm iths.com> wrote in message
news:11******** *************@u 72g2000cwu.goog legroups.com...
Albert Wiersch spammed: Don't forget the free CSE HTML Validator Lite editor and syntax
checker/validator for Windows:
To save Jukka the trouble, I'd just point out that CSE is a bag of
nails and certainly _isn't_ a validator.
Albert, why don't you re-write it and make it into a true validator?
It's potentially a useful tool, just not as it is at present.
