[thelist] Netscape 6.1, radiobuttons, and DTD

[lon.kraemer]

Marin,

> It makes perfect sense to me (assuming you meant the RFC requirement) and
> follows extremely logically.

Sorry, I don't see the logic.

> Radio Buttons have an analagous behaviour to dropdown boxes in that you
> have to choose one (and only one) of them.

Analogous perhaps, but not identical. What logic dictates that when offered
a choice (re: radio buttons), an option MUST be selected. It seems to me
that no choice logically implies no response/no preference. What's the point
of requiring a 'No Choice' option?

I certainly don't see the same requirement for Checkboxes where the RFC
states: 'A set of such elements with the same name represents an n-of-many
choice field', where n=0 is apparently acceptable.

> Now if UAs don't follow the hint (and it's annoying that it's a hint) of
> the HTML spec that the RFC is the way to go, that's the fault of the
> browser makers.

Could not that 'hint' be construed a prejudicial or 'leading'?

> As evidenced by the CSS debate, standards are A Good Thing, and should be
> followed so you get predictable (and ideally logical) results.

I most certainly agree that 'standards are A Good Thing'. So are laws. But
lets face it, some laws are just 'stupid' (IOW, illogical)!

> Do I know of a UA which follows it? NS6.1 apparently.

I can't vouch for NS6.1, but I see no such support in NS6.2.1, so apparently
any decision to follow this 'rule' was reversed. Then again, this may be a
DTD thing that's skewing the behavior?

> Cheers
> Martin
>
>
> Subject:    Re: [thelist] Netscape 6.1, radiobuttons, and DTD
>
> Indeed, here is the relevant paragraph:
>
> 8.1.2.4. Radio Button: INPUT TYPE=RADIO
>
>    An <INPUT> element with `TYPE=RADIO' represents a boolean choice. A
>    set of such elements with the same name represents a 1-of-many choice
>    field. The NAME and VALUE attributes are required as for check boxes.
>    Optional attributes are:
>
>     CHECKED
>             indicates that the initial state is on.
>    At all times, exactly one of the radio buttons in a set is checked.
>    If none of the <INPUT> elements of a set of radio buttons specifies
>    `CHECKED', then the user agent must check the first radio button of
>    the set initially.
>
>    For example:
>
>     <p>Which is your favorite?
>     <input type=radio name=flavor value=vanilla>Vanilla<br>
>     <input type=radio name=flavor value=strawberry>Strawberry<br>
>     <input type=radio name=flavor value=chocolate>Chocolate<br>
>
> <snip>

---------------------
Lon Kraemer
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