About this document
This document records known errata to HTML 4 specifications,
including HTML 4.0 and HTML 4.01 (which supersedes HTML 4.0).
Errata for HTML 4.0 versions are listed in separate documents:
This document records errata beginning with the
24 December 1999 specification of HTML 4.01.
Please email error reports to [email protected].
How this document is organized
Each erratum entry below includes the following information:
- A unique entry number.
- The date it was added to the errata page.
- Whether the entry is considered an important
error, a minor typographical error, a clarification,
or a known problem with the document itself.
- The document version and section referred to.
- A description of the problem and correction
if applicable.
References to this errata sheet should refer to it
as of a specific date and include the number of the
most recent error recorded.
Known Errors in HTML 4.01
- 1. Missing
reference to changes from 4.0 to 4.01
- Added: 17 Jan 2000
- Type: Editorial
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
1.1 How the specification is organized, Appendixes
- Description: The paragraph does not refer to the
changes from HTML 4.0 to HTML 4.01.
- Correction: Include that information.
- 2.
Values of marginwidth/marginheight
may be 0.
- Added: 17 Jan 2000
- Type: Error
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
16.2.2 The FRAME element
- Description: The definitions of the marginwidth
and marginheight attributes say that the value must be an integer
greater than zero.
- Correction: The value must be an integer greater than
or equal to zero. That is, furthermore, what
the
list of changes states.
- 3.
Missing semicolons
in entity name of parameter entity references
- Added: 17 Jan 2000
- Type: Editorial
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
6 Basic HTML data types
- Description:
Every entity name of parameter entity reference is followed
by semicolon in DTDs (and fragment DTDs).
- Correction: Examples of
parameter entity references in section 6.8 - 6.13 should be:
"%LanguageCode;" (section 6.8), "%Charset;" (section 6.9),
"%Character;" (section 6.10), "%Datetime;" (section 6.11),
"%LinkTypes;" (section 6.12), and "%MediaDesc;" (section 6.13).
- 4.
URIs also used for background images
- Added: 26 Jan 2000
- Type: Editorial
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
2.1.3 Relative URIs
- Description:
This section lists elements in the HTML that use URIs but
omits the (deprecated) use of background images specified
on the BODY element.
- Correction: Add another bullet:
"Designate a background image
(see the BODY element).
This is a deprecated
usage and style sheets should be used instead."
- 5.
Missing DTD comment for OPTION/selected
- Added: 26 Jan 2000
- Type: Editorial
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
21 Document Type Definition
- Description: The "selection" attribute of the
OPTION element is missing a comment.
Also, this example appears in the section
3.3.4.2 Boolean attributes. While it was corrected in this
version of the specification, the correction doesn't appear
in the list of changes.
- Correction: Add the comment
"option is pre-selected" to the DTD.
- 6.
Missing DTD comment for OPTION/selected
- Added: 26 Jan 2000
- Type: Editorial
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
21 Document Type Definition
- Description: The "selection" attribute of the
OPTION element is missing a comment.
Also, this example appears in the section
3.3.4.2 Boolean attributes. While it was corrected in this
version of the specification, the correction doesn't appear
in the list of changes.
- Correction: Add the comment
"option is pre-selected" to the DTD.
- 7.
Gzipped PDF file problematic on Macs
- Added: 26 Jan 2000
- Type: Document Issue
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version.
- Description: When unzipped, the PDF format
of the specification may cause problems on
Adobe Acrobat on MacIntoshes.
- Correction: Try using the Postscript
format. The PDF format will not be gzipped in future versions.
- 8.
Syntax error in comments
- Added: 26 Jan 2000
- Type: Editorial
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
7.4.4. Meta data, "Meta and Search Engines"
- Description: The comments
such as "<-- For speakers of US English -->" are missing
an "!" after the "<".
- Correction: "<!-- For speakers of US English -->"
The same applies to the two comments that follow.
- 9.
Use "hreflang" with "Alternate" link types
- Added: 26 Jan 2000
- Type: Error
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
6.12 Link types
- Description: The definition of "Alternate" link types
says to use the lang attribute
to indicate a translated document.
- Correction: Use hreflang
to suggest the language of the linked document.
- 10.
content-disposition: attachment
- Added: 26 Jan 2000
- Type: Error
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
17.13.4 Form content types, "multipart/form-data"
- Description:
RFC2388
incorrectly states in section 4.4:
"in the case of multiple files, in a "content-disposition:
file" header of the subpart." This syntax appears
in the examples in section 17.13.4.2
- Correction: Change to "content-disposition: attachment".
- 11.
OBJECT instantiation
- Added: 26 Jan 2000
- Type: Clarification
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
13.3.4 Object declarations and instantiations
- Description: Indicate how OBJECT
instantiation works.
- Correction: After this part of the example at the end of 13.3.4:
...later in the document...
<P>A neat <A href="#earth.declaration"> animation of The Earth!</A>
Add:
Another way of instantiating such a declared object is:
<object data="#earth.declaration"></object>
- 12.
Unzipping PDF/PS on Windows
- Added: 28 April 2000
- Type: Document Problem
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
Gzipped PDF version (as well as PS, I presume).
- Description: Problem unzipping html40.pdf.gz.
- Correction: There is no problem with the gzipped
PDF file. If you are having problems unzipping the file
it may be that Windows has already unzipped it for you
during the download. In this case, simply remove the ".gz"
suffix from the file and view it with your PDF viewer.
- 13.
Local links to style sheets in gzipped
distribution
- Added: 12 May 2001
- Type: Document Problem
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
Gzip'ed tar archive of HTML.
- Description: Absolute links to style sheets and icons.
- Correction: This was a conscious decision, but may
be revised in a future release to allow for easier offline
viewing. In theory, caching should address this issue, but
in practice that won't work in today's browsing
environments.
- 14.
Clarify element declaration
exceptions in tutorial.
- Added: 12 May 2001
- Type: Clarification
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
section 3.3.1 Content model definitions.
- Description: Exceptions (inclusions and exclusions from
the content model) not well-described.
- Correction: Indicate that exceptions {
+(A)
and -(A) } appear at the
end of the content model description. Show example of this using
the A element declaration.
- 15.
It is not specified whether
the values of the "coords" attribute (A and AREA elements)
are 0-based or 1-based
- Added: 12 May 2001
- Type: Error
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
section 13.6.1 AREA element declaration.
- Description: The specification is unclear about whether x,y coordinates are
0-based or 1-based. Is the top left corner (0,0) or (1,1)?
- Correction: None yet (seeking HTML WG input).
- 16.
Mistaken reference to image
instead of object.
- Added: 12 May 2001
- Type: Editorial
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
section 15.1.3.1 Float an object.
- Description: The "align" attribute values "left" and "right"
refer to objects first, then images.
- Correction: Substitute "object" for "image" in second
sentence of each definition, as in
"Subsequent text flows along the object's right side."
- 17.
Example missing
TITLE element in head.
- Added: 12 May 2001
- Type: Editorial
- Refers to:
24 Dec 1999 version,
section 14.1.
- Description: The example in the introduction is a complete
HTML 4.01 document instance and is missing a required
TITLE element in the HEAD.
- Correction: Add a
TITLE element.