[whatwg] Adding a src attribute to all elements

[Remco]

On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 03:05, Curtiss Grymala <curtiss at ten-321.com> wrote:
> I would like to propose that a src attribute be added to the spec for
> all HTML elements. The content of the file referenced in the src
> attribute would then replace the contents of the element that contains
> the src attribute. The src attribute would then be interpreted
> differently, depending on the type of file referenced in that src
> attribute.

I tried to do something similar: I tried to get the alt attribute on
all elements with external content. That would have made the HTML
specification more consistent. But I think we have to accept that HTML
is not a beautiful streamlined well-designed language. Everything you
add to the specification needs to be implemented by all browsers. They
all need to see the merit of it. Can you think of a good use case for
this? What problem would it solve? If you can convince people that
they have a problem which you solve, then you're in business.

> For instance, if I reference a PHP file in the src attribute, I
> would expect the PHP to be parsed before it shows up in my document.

Minor nitpick: HTML does not influence that. A PHP file is translated
into HTML on the server and then that HTML is served to the browser.
The browser always only sees HTML. The .php extension has no meaning.
It could just as well be .html or .foobar.

-- 
Remco