Space Before Closing Slash?

Question

I've frequently seen a space preceding the closing slash in XML and HTML tags. The XHTML line break is probably the canonical example:

<br />

instead of:

<br/>

The space seems superfluous. In fact, I think that it is superfluous.

What is the reason for writing this space?

I've read that the space solves some "backwards compatibility issues." Which backwards compatibility issues? Are those issues still relevant, or are we still adding extra spaces for the sake of, say, IE3 compatibility? Does there exist some spec with the definitive answer on this?

If not backwards compatibility, then is it a readability issue? Similar to the Great Open Curly Brace debate?

void it_goes_up_here() {

int no_you_fool_it_goes_down_there()
{

I can certainly respect differing stylistic opinions, so I'll be happy to learn that writing the space is simply a matter of taste.

Answer 1

I think that the white space is a way to reinforce the idea that this tag is empty and it closes itself.

Today i don't use the white space anymore because i never had a problem with no white space.

Answer 2

In XHTML, br tags must be closed, but the space is not necessary. It's a stylistic thing. In HTML, br tags cannot be closed, so both are wrong.

Answer 3

No, the space is not required but it is necessary for some older browsers to render those tags correctly. The proper way to do it is without the extra space as this is something XHTML inherited from XML.

Answer 4

For me, it depends on what visual studio makes with my HTML/XML :-) It is not consistent, but it does not matter from a functional view (it's only a matter of style).

Answer 5

The space just makes the tags more readable. I am a big proponent of formatting for more readable code. Little things like that go a long way. Without the space the closing tag blends in with the opening tag. It takes just an instant longer for me to process it as I am quickly reading the code.

Answer 6

The answer is people wish to adhere to Appendix C of the XHTML1.0 specification. Which you only need to do if you are serving XHTML as text/html. Which most people do, because XHTML's real MIME type (application/html+xml) does not work in Internet Explorer.

No current browser cares for the space. Browsers are very tolerant of these things.

The space used to be required to ensure HTML parsers treated the trailing slash as an unrecognised attribute.

Answer 7

Are those issues still relevant or are we still adding extra spaces for the sake of, say, IE3 compatibility?

You were close - it is for Netscape 4.

It is interesting to see other rationalisations, but that's all it was meant for.