[whatwg] HTML5 DOCTYPE

Sat Dec 1 05:10:08 PST 2007

Yuhong Bao wrote:

> I agree that the HTML5 DOCTYPE should be optional

Note that this is only the case for the XML serialization.

> but how about expanding it to the full thing like the HTML 4.01 DOCTYPE?

As the FAQ explains[1] the only reason for the inclusion of the
DOCTYPE declaration in the spec is to trigger standards mode in
browsers, and <!doctype html> does just that. Using the full form
would only waste bytes as browsers don't use that information anyway.

[1] http://wiki.whatwg.org/wiki/FAQ#What_will_the_DOCTYPE_be.3F

-- 
David Håsäther