[whatwg] HTML as a text format: Should <title> be optional?

Fri Apr 17 16:02:41 PDT 2009

If you're converting from a textfile, title could refer to the filename.

If it's an automated process, it can be added by default.

If it's manual, they'll have to remember the short html5 doctype and the title element.

Personally I don't see any reason to make title optional.

----- Oorspronkelijk bericht -----
Van: Øistein E. Andersen <liszt at coq.no>
Verzonden: vrijdag 17 april 2009 21:49
Aan: whatwg at whatwg.org
Onderwerp: [whatwg] HTML as a text format: Should <title> be optional?

HTML can be used as an advanced text format, and people may want to  
convert existing plain text to HTML.  For example's sake, consider the  
following:

> A Short Document
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> This is a short plain-text document which someone
> might want to convert into HTML.
>
> As faithful readers of this list will recall,
> /Règles typographiques/ requires note names to be
> typeset in italics (/ut/, /ré/, /mi/, etc.),
> which is not possible in plain text.

This corresponds to the following HTML:

> <h1>A Short Document</h1>
>
> <p>This is a short plain-text document which someone
> might want to convert into HTML.
>
> <p>As faithful readers of this list will recall,
> <i>Règles typographiques</i> requires note names to be
> typeset in italics (<i>ut</i>, <i>ré</i>, <i>mi</i>, etc.),
> which is not possible in plain text.

Unfortunately, this is not valid; the following two lines must be  
added to the top:

> <!DOCTYPE html>
> <title>A Short Document</title>

The DOCTYPE is unfortunate, but seems impossible to get rid of at this  
point.

A <title> is usually a good idea, but is it really necessary to  
require this for conformance?  After all, a <title> is not something  
which an author is likely to forget, and leaving it out has no  
unexpected consequences.

-- 
Øistein E. Andersen