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The Unofficial WebTechs HTML Validator FAQ

The WebTechs HTML Validation Service [aka. "the validator formerly known as HALSoft" ] is one of the most useful tools I've found for keeping your HTML pages clean. Unfortunately, it's not exactly user-friendly, as many of its users will attest. I have attempted to gather here the questions I see most frequently about WebTechs (mostly from reading comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html). I've also added a little information about SGML that's useful to know when working with the Validator.

Section 1: WebTechs and other validators

• What does WebTechs do?
• Why should I validate my HTML pages?
• What other validators are there?
• How does WebTechs work?
• How does the new error message format work?
• What do the report options do?
• WebTechs won't let me in. What now?
• What conformance level should I use?
• Should I use the strict setting?
• WebTechs said "No errors found". That means my page is clean, right?
• Help! WebTechs spewed a zillion error messages on my page!
• I used the Mozilla setting, but WebTechs still doesn't like my tables.
• I love your validator/I have a question about your validator.

Section 2: HTML and SGML

• What is SGML?
• What is a DTD?
• What is this DOCTYPE thing? What if my page doesn't have one? What if it does?
• What's the correct syntax for HTML comments? (or: Why does my document come up blank on some browsers?)

Section 3: WebTechs's error messages

• Your document contains an SGML prolog which does not match the selected level on the forms interface.
• entity end not allowed in comment
• name start character invalid: only s and comment allowed in comment declaration
• unknown declaration type `FOO'
• an attribute value must be a literal unless it contains only name characters
• literal is missing closing delimiter
• length of attribute value must not exceed LITLEN less NORMSEP (1022)
• element `FOO' undefined
• document type does not allow element "FOO" here
• there is no attribute `FOO'
• value of attribute "FOO" cannot be "BAR"; must be one of...
• character "X" not allowed in value of attribute "FOO"
• `FOO' is not a member of a group specified for any attribute
• required attribute `FOO' not specified
• end tag for `FOO' omitted, but its declaration does not permit this
• end tag for element `FOO' which is not open
• end tag for `FOO' which is not finished
• start tag for `FOO' omitted, but its declaration does not permit this
• general entity `FOO' not defined and no default entity
• non SGML character number ###
• cannot generate system identifier for public text "(stuff)"
• cannot open "html.dtd" (No such file or directory)

Naturally, this page is (all together now) Under Construction. If you have a question that you think should be answered on this page, or additional information you think I should add, or if (gods forbid) I have something wrong, please e-mail me at dsb@cs.duke.edu.

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