XHTML 1.0 Content-Negotiation

[James Pickering]

(update with re-formulated PHP)

The W3C Tutorial relating to content negotiation
http://www.w3.org/2003/01/xhtml-mime...nt-negotiation mostly
relates to Apache. I am working on content-negotiation for my Zeus/3.4
Server. My interim goal is to serve XHTML 1.0 documents as Content-Type
application/xhtml+xml -- with XML declaration -- to Firefox browsers
and as text/html-- without XML declaration (in order to render in
"standards" mode) -- to MSIE browsers.

I have constructed a test page http://www.jp29.org/indexbak.php (a
replication of my de facto Home page http://www.jp29.org/ which is
served as html 4.01) that I am attempting to serve as
application/xhtml+xml in my Firefox 1.0.6 browser and as Content-Type:
text/html in my MSIE 6.0 browser.

Checks of my test page served as XHTML 1.0 (strict) Content-Type
application/xhtml+xml -- with XML declaration -- in my Firefox 1.0.6
browser:

Firefox Tools/Web Developer/Information/Vew Page Information/View
Response Headers

W3C Validator in Verbose mode --
http://validator.w3.org/check?verbos...g/indexbak.php
Web Caching -- http://www.web-caching.com/showheaders.html

(Added: O'Reilly RUWF facility at
http://www.xml.com/pub/a/tools/ruwf/check.html -- for XML being "well
formed").

The test page renders as XHTML 1.0 (strict) Content-Type text/html --
without XML declaration -- for me in my MSIE 6.0 browser.

I solicit comments on the validity of my exercise -- and comments in
general.

--
James Pickering

[Henri Sivonen]

In article <11**********************@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups .com>,
"James Pickering" <jp**@cox.net> wrote:

My interim goal is to serve XHTML 1.0 documents as Content-Type
application/xhtml+xml -- with XML declaration -- to Firefox browsers
and as text/html-- without XML declaration (in order to render in
"standards" mode) -- to MSIE browsers.

Why?

Wouldn't it be simpler and more cacheable to serve HTML 4.01 to all UAs?

--
Henri Sivonen
hs******@iki.fi
http://hsivonen.iki.fi/
Mozilla Web Author FAQ: http://mozilla.org/docs/web-developer/faq.html

[James Pickering]

Henri Sivonen wrote:

In article <11**********************@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups .com>,
"James Pickering" <jp**@cox.net> wrote:

My interim goal is to serve XHTML 1.0 documents as Content-Type
application/xhtml+xml -- with XML declaration -- to Firefox browsers
and as text/html-- without XML declaration (in order to render in
"standards" mode) -- to MSIE browsers.

Why?

Wouldn't it be simpler and more cacheable to serve HTML 4.01 to all UAs?

Yes -- that is what I do. This is just an exercise to see if I can
effect Content-Negotiation for the Zeus server as requested in the W3C
document relating to this subject.

James Pickering

[dingbat]

Henri Sivonen wrote:

Why?

Because it's there?

This is obviously currently a pointless exercise. I wouldn't do it
myself - personally I'd serve Appendix C to everyone. But none of this
is a reason why it _shouldn't_ be done.

Actually it's an interesting exercise to serve real XML-XHTML to those
that can take it - it would avoid the ugly hack of hiding my embedded
RDF metadata away as comments in the header. James and I do seem to be
the only people still pursuing that route 8-)
FF1.0.6 seems to be working perfectly for me.

[Henri Sivonen]

In article <11*********************@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups. com>,
di*****@codesmiths.com wrote:

But none of this
is a reason why it _shouldn't_ be done.
However, see
http://www.mozilla.org/docs/web-deve...aq.html#accept
Actually it's an interesting exercise to serve real XML-XHTML to those
that can take it - it would avoid the ugly hack of hiding my embedded
RDF metadata away as comments in the header.

RDF in comments "parsed" with regexps is so bogus it is not even funny.

--
Henri Sivonen
hs******@iki.fi
http://hsivonen.iki.fi/
Mozilla Web Author FAQ: http://mozilla.org/docs/web-developer/faq.html

[James Pickering]

Henri Sivonen wrote:

In article <11*********************@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups. com>,
di*****@codesmiths.com wrote:

But none of this
is a reason why it _shouldn't_ be done.

However, see
http://www.mozilla.org/docs/web-deve...aq.html#accept

That is very interesting. It seems that the W3C and Mozilla need to get
together on this -- I will post the link on the W3C QA Forum for
commentary.

--

James Pickering
http://www.jp29.org/

[Nick Kew]

di*****@codesmiths.com wrote:

Actually it's an interesting exercise to serve real XML-XHTML to those
that can take it - it would avoid the ugly hack of hiding my embedded
RDF metadata away as comments in the header.

If you're mixing RDF and (X)HTML, what you want is the relevant
Namespace modules to filter them on the fly. See for example
http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2004/12/15/...amespaces.html

--
Nick Kew

[James Pickering]

Following are the HTTP Request and Response Headers for my Content
Negotiation test page http://www.jp29.org/indexbak.php

Firefox 1.0.6 browser:

http://web-sniffer.net/?url=http%3A%...iffer%2F1.0.21
MSIE 6.0 browser:

http://web-sniffer.net/?url=http%3A%...iffer%2F1.0.21

--
James Pickering
http://www.jp29.org/

[James Pickering]

Two useful resources for those contemplating XHTML 1.0 Content
Negotiation:

http://web-sniffer.net
http://www.httpwatch.com/httpgallery/default.htm

--
James Pickering
http://jp29.org/indexbak.php
XHTML 1.0 Content negotiation test

[James Pickering]

Update ..........

Objective: To serve XHTML 1.0 documents as Content-Type
application/xhtml+xml -- with XML declaration -- to browsers that
recognize that MIME type and as text/html-- without XML declaration (in
order to render in "standards" mode) -- to other browsers.

Web-Sniffer -- View HTTP Request and Response Header -- reports for
http://www.jp29.org/indexbak.php served as XHTML 1.0 via
Content-Negotiation:

FireFox 1.0.6 -- MIME Type application/xhtml+xml:
http://web-sniffer.net/?url=http%3A%...iffer%2F1.0.21

MSIE 6.0 -- MIME Type text/html:
http://web-sniffer.net/?url=http%3A%...iffer%2F1.0.21

Netscape Navigator 4.08 -- MIME Type text/html:
http://web-sniffer.net/?url=http%3A%...iffer%2F1.0.21

Opera 8.02 -- MIME Type application/xhtml+xml:
http://web-sniffer.net/?url=http%3A%...iffer%2F1.0.21

--
James Pickering
http://www.jp29.org/indexbak.php
Content Negotiation test