I was recently asked how I approached coding, in terms of validation and standards. I said that when I had complete control over the code, I coded to xhtml1.0 strict. “for all browsers?” I was asked. The question took me aback. Yes, of course for all browsers. I wouldn’t even know how to code differently for separate browsers. Sure, CSS and JS take some work to standardize, but for me, coding to xhtml1.0 strict is a no-brainer. [I did give the disclaimer that when using an imposed infrastructure, I had to take a step back down to HTML4-.10 transitional for when we were using struts, and I'm still not sure we'd validate]

Further in the conversation I realized that while I can strongly claim adherence to xhtml1.0, I can’t do the same for a certain version of CSS or javascript. I know there has recently been a call for CSS2.2, but honestly, I just use code that works. So too for javascript. In a similar case, I skimmed something that mentioned some new functionality for javascript1.6. Are we up to 1.6? Who knew?

That’s what struck me: the aspect that I consider ’stable’ (xhtml), I code to completely and I’m familiar with it. The other two, that require more knowledge of ‘what works’ and ‘what doesn’t', I have more applied knowledge. I don’t know if it is due to the age of the technologies and how well they are handled by user agents or not. That is, (x)HTML is a markup language, and is platform- and device-independent. It is when you get into presentation and behaviour that the browser quirks rear their ugly heads, so it is not simply a matter of knowing the technology, but also how it interacts with the various platforms.

Will I ever get to a point where I can say “I code to CSS3?” I’m not sure..