Doc Steve
Web Coding Service

Fully Accessible Web Code, Custom Written by Hand
Specializing in html, xml, css, and U.S.§508

Doc Steve

Doc Steve provides consulting and programming services to assist those interested in improving the look and performance of their web sites and in bringing them into conformance with established standards.

Why Doc Steve

It is important that all of your visitors, regardless of the platform they are using, get the same quality of information that you intend to deliver. it would be nice if all web code generated the same display of information on every platform: nice, but dream on! Doc Steve helps you in the following ways:

Usability
Every effort is made to insure that all pages will read equally well (although not necessarilly identically) on all browsers (and on other platforms as well, such as web-enabled Palms and even Apple's venerable Newton).
Validation
The standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) are always the standards followed, as opposed to guidelines of any particular broswer supplier. All pages are validated using the W3C HTML/XHTML validator (and on this and related sites are so marked: that's your choice; on this site, all pages conform to the W3C XHTML 1.1 specification [except for a few odd ones that are intended to display obsolete coding examples]).
Web abbreviations: About alphabet-land
- HTML and XHTML, SGML and XML:
  XHTML is to HTML as XML is to SGML; that is, XHTML and HTML are both programming languages, XML and SGML are their respective meta-languages. Among other things, XHTML 1.0 requires the closing of all elements (such as table cells), and HTML elements that do not have a close (for example, the stand-alone line break, <br>) must be closed internally (as <br />).
- Meta-language?
  A meta-language is a framework within which a language is developed. XHTML is sometimes described as a bridge between HTML and XML, as in, "There's HTML, XHTML, and XML": it is, sort of, but that one-two-three typology is technically incorrect. HTML's meta-language, SGML, does not require tags to be closed, and other SGML-based languages (e.g., "Rich Text Format," RTF) similarly open tags with no need to close them; XHTML's meta-language, XML, does require tags to be closed (in effect putting all content into containers), and all other XML derivatives will likewise require tag closing.
- About "transitional"
  HTML 4 and XHTML 1.0 include a transitional specification (XHTML 1.1 is only a "strict" form): this means that a site can still use "deprecated" elements, which can be particularly useful for formatting pages (even when they may still use style sheets as the overall basis for formatting the site). This is also helpful when migrating older sites forward toward conformance; it also helps ensure that the few users with older browsers get a similar presentation to the users with newer browsers. No depricated elements are still in use on this or related sites, just to show that we can do it: all pages conform to the XHTML 1.1 specification: XHTML 2.0 now exists, sort of, but there are no plans to make any programming changes in the foreseeable future to XHTML 2.0.
Accessibility
All pages are written to conform to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and U.S. Sect. 508 accessibility standards. This provides for access by persons using non-visual browsers and other assistive devices. Pages are checked for accessibility with the Bobby accessibility validator.
Links
Links on all pages should be periodically checked: this may be done using the W3C link checker.
Standards, Standards, Standards
- Much of the work noted here, devoted to cross browser conformity and allowing for local-user platform requirements, is just good programming practice. For a not insubstantial amount of this work, however, this cross-browser conformity issue would not be so much of a hassle were Microsoft and Netscape to admit that the browser wars are finally over and simply follow the W3C standards (hey guys, it's 2004 as I write this!). Unfortunately, they have not implemented the W3C standards in an identical manner, making site development much harder, although with NS6 and IE5, things were getting closer to conformity; nevertheless, in developing pages, one must always assume that Internet Explorer 5, Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 4, Netscape 6, Netscape 7, and Mozilla 1 will all display differently: one does what can be done, but it is necessary to remember that the object of the page -- with respect to all possible platforms -- is total usability of the information, not total consistency of the presentation.
- Also note that there will never be a "best viewed with" tag on any of our sites, an annoying practice now well on its way to the rubbish heap of history. Our sites will be viewable with any browser on any platform.
- BTW, as of the summer of 2005, the web browsers that are currently in general use are Internet Explorer vers. 5 and 6 (about 80% of usage), Mozilla/Firefox and Netscape after ver. 4 (about 15% of usage), and Opera (about 1% of usage); even Netscape ver. 4 continues to hang-in with somewhat less than 1% of usage). Earlier browsers lack so much functionality as to be hopelessly obsolete; other browsers may be very ideosyncratic. Nevertheless, all pages should display well on any of them (although, as noted, not identically). These numbers show a clear increase for the Mozilla/Firefox family.
- Obsolete Browsers
  Which leads us to one other point, browsers that really do not support standards, mainly because the standards did not exist when they were developed. This would not be so much of a problem if the browsers dropped into a clean mode, such as a text mode, but many do not: they break the standard, any effort to program around it is futile, and the result is often unreadable. Let's face it folks, Netscape 4.7 was a really good, stable product, but its time is done. It's time for the NS 4 users to step up in the world and get with Mozilla!
SEO

What's that? SEO? Well, SEO is "Search Engine Optimization," which I could, but I don't. That is a service that not only do I not provide but also is not well implemented on this site. But what is Search Engine Optimization? There are certain techniques that may be used to generate high scores on search engine algorithms. These would not necessarilly be wrong scores, but the site is just designed wtih certain search engines in mind, and targets their means for rating sites. This would allow, for example, an optimized site to score high enough to be on the first page of returns, or even the very first return. However, it should be kept in mind that just because a site scores high does not mean that the users of search engines will actually find it to be useful: the optimization has to really be on target, while certain search engines actively program against SEO.

Preceeding section links: Why Doc Steve

Site Map / Search Doc Steve

See the Site Map/Search page

Contacting Doc Steve

See the Contacts page

Doc Steve's Free On-Line Resources

You Are Not Alone

Key Links and References

For more information on this revolutionary idea that site developers should make their sites viewable with any browser on any platform visit --

Viewable With Any Browser campaign

Also, for the more technically inclined, visit --

The Web Standards Project

and

Netscape's DevEdge

And of course the overall governing body of web standards,

[*]

About Doc Steve

[*] Note: W3C^® is a trademark (registered in numerous countries) of the World Wide Web Consortium; marks of W3C are registered and held by its host institutions, MIT, ERCIM,, and Keio.