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Answer 1

+3 A:

A Doctype Declaration isn't a tag, so it doesn't follow the syntax rules for tags. It is well specified though. (The trick to building a parser is to start with the specification and not from example documents)

David Dorward 2010-10-13 13:37:26

Thanks! Sure, the spec is what matters, but still it's pretty disturbing. Instead of being simpler, now I've got that on my mind, too. Of course, w3c must have had some real need to introduce this kind of peculiarity. Off I go to the spec.

Albus Dumbledore 2010-10-13 14:41:33

Everything's perfectly clear now. Thanks. The spec is not as bad as it looked at first sight.

Albus Dumbledore 2010-10-13 16:13:02

Answer 2

+1 A:

Wow, that's something you don't see every day. Code like that traces its roots all the way back to SGML. SGML had all sorts of fun bits that we use today: <![CDATA[, <?xml version="1.0"?>, and even PHP's open/close "tags": <?php ... ?>.

All in all, it's nothing to worry about. It's just a series of instructions for the parser, though you might be better off accomplishing the same thing via another means. Keep calm and carry on.

mattbasta 2010-10-13 13:58:16

Thanks! Well, it certainly needs some thinking over, like counting the number of opened brackets, etc.

Albus Dumbledore 2010-10-13 14:38:29

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