XHTML 1.0: Where XML and HTML meet (6/8) - exploring XML

XHTML 1.0: Where XML and HTML meet

XHTML Modules

XHTML modules specify well-defined sets of XHTML elements that can be combined and extended to deliver content on a greater number and diversity of platforms.

Modularizing XHTML provides a means for product designers to specify which elements are supported by a device using standard building blocks and standard methods for specifying which building blocks are used. It is not economically feasible for content developers to tailor content to each and every permutation of XHTML elements. By specifying a standard, either software processes can autonomously tailor content to a device, or the device can automatically load the software required to process a module.

Modularization also allows for the extension of XHTML's layout and presentation capabilities, using the extensibility of XML, without breaking the XHTML standard. This development path provides a stable, useful, and implementable framework for content developers and publishers to manage the rapid pace of technological change on the Web.

The modules themselves are not yet finalized, nevertheless it is useful to get a feeling for the proposed granularity of those modules, and I personally do not expect significant changes to the final recommendation.

Basic Modules

The basic modules are modules that are required to be present in any XHTML Family Conforming Document Type.

Structure Module

The Structure Module defines the major structural elements for XHTML. These elements effectively act as the basis for the content model of many XHTML family document types. The elements and attributes included in this module are:

html
head
title
body

This module is the basic structural definition for XHTML content. The html element acts as the root element for all XHTML Family Document Types.

Basic Text Module

This module defines all of the basic text container elements, attributes, and their content model. Some prominent examples are the headings h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, block directives address, blockquote, div, p, pre, and inline tags abbr, acronym, br, cite, code, dfn, em, kbd, q, samp, span, strong, var.

Hypertext Module

This module adds the a element to the Inline content set of the Basic Text Module.

List Module

As its name suggests, the List Module provides list-oriented elements. Specifically, the List Module supports the elements:

dl, containing dt's and dd's
ol, containg li's
ul, containing li's

URL: https://www.webreference.com/xml/column6/6.html
Created: Feb. 07, 2000
Revised: Feb. 07, 2000

XHTML 1.0: Where XML and HTML meet (6/8) - exploring XML