A LIST Apart: For People Who Make Websites

No. 251

January 21, 2008

Not your father’s standards switch: a special issue on version targeting and forward compatibility.

Beyond DOCTYPE: Web Standards, Forward Compatibility, and IE8

by Aaron Gustafson

For seven years, the @DOCTYPE@ switch has stood designers and developers in good stead as a toggle between standards mode and quirks mode. But when IE7, with its greatly improved support for standards, "broke the web," it revealed the flaw in our toggle. The quest was on to find a more reliable ensurer of forward compatibility. Is version targeting the answer?

From Switches to Targets: A Standardista’s Journey

by Eric Meyer

Grab your galoshes and walking stick and follow along with A List Apart's Eric Meyer as he considers the vices and virtues of version targeting as a standards toggle.

A List Apart explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices. Explore our articles or find out more about us.

Editor’s Choice

originally ran: July 28, 2000

Usability experts are from Mars, graphic designers are from Venus

by Curt Cloninger

Usability mavens like Jakob Nielsen think the web is an ill-used database. Graphic designers like Kioken think it is a fledgling multimedia platform. Could both groups be right? New ALA author Curt Cloninger explains why usability experts are from Mars, graphic designers are from Venus. This one's a hottie.