Sorting out HTML Validation

**zcnb** · 24 Apr 2009, 05:12 PM

This is crazy. I changed only one line in tpl_header.php and now HTML validation yields no errors at all (on the test site. for simplicity sake let's limit the discussion to the test site only).

Here is what I did. I changed from:

PHP Code:


<?php echo '<a href="index.php?main_page=index&amp;cPath=2">' . zen_image($template->get_template_dir(HEADER_CATEGORIES_TABS1, DIR_WS_TEMPLATE, $current_page_base,'images'). '/' .

        HEADER_CATEGORIES_TABS1, HEADER_CATEGORIES_TABS1_ALT) . '</a>'; ?>

To:

PHP Code:


<?php echo '<a href="index.php?main_page=index' . htmlspecialchars('&') . 'cPath=2">' . zen_image($template->get_template_dir(HEADER_CATEGORIES_TABS1, DIR_WS_TEMPLATE, $current_page_base,'images'). '/' .

        HEADER_CATEGORIES_TABS1, HEADER_CATEGORIES_TABS1_ALT) . '</a>'; ?>

I left the two other (faulty?) lines as they are.

Any explanation for this?

Why does htmlspecialchars('&') work whereas '&' doesn't?

**mprough** · 24 Apr 2009, 05:17 PM

Cheers... you see one error often causes a whole string in the validator =-)

~Melanie

**zcnb** · 24 Apr 2009, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by mprough

Cheers... you see one error often causes a whole string in the validator =-)

Thank you, Melanie.

I am still troubled by the fact that I don't understand why the HTML validator considers the first '&' an error, while the others aren't.

Also, is there really a difference between htmlspecialchars('&') and '&'?

**mprough** · 24 Apr 2009, 05:40 PM

All unescaped ampersands will produce an error. The difference as you asked is likely related to your site, code or hosting and is in the parsing engine.... No worries though, these things happen.

~Melanie