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Mr. Alex

Member

Registered: 2010-08-26

Posts: 623

[Solved] HTML5 - do I need to close void tags?

http://w3schools.com/html5/tag_hr.asp

It's about HTML5, they use <hr /> in an example but <hr> below the example. So it's uncertainty for those who tend to follow standards. When it's about HTML5 as it is - which way is more correct - to always use closing tag or not to use it in tags such as <hr> and <br>?

Last edited by Mr. Alex (2011-09-18 17:09:20)

karol

Archivist

Registered: 2009-05-06

Posts: 25,440

Re: [Solved] HTML5 - do I need to close void tags?

You mean

The <hr> tag creates a horizontal line in an HTML page.

- I think it's just the way they call tags.

Edit: Ah, no, the page code shows

<p>The &lt;hr&gt; tag is supported in all major browsers.</p>
<hr>

<h2>Definition and Usage</h2>

Edit2: Hmm, I get the above piece of code when using 'View selection source' from Firefox' context menu, but when viewing the whole page source, it shows

<p>The &lt;hr&gt; tag is supported in all major browsers.</p>
<hr />

<h2>Definition and Usage</h2>

Edit3: http://www.html-5.com/tags/hr-tag/index.html

Since the <hr/> tag is a void element, it is not allowed to have any content, even HTML comments and therefore should always be coded as a self-closing standalone tag, ending with the delimiters /> rather than just > (<hr/>).

Last edited by karol (2011-09-18 13:31:53)

lolilolicon

Member

Registered: 2009-03-05

Posts: 1,722

Re: [Solved] HTML5 - do I need to close void tags?

The / is optional, see:
http://dev.w3.org/html5/markup/syntax.html#void-element

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Mr. Alex

Member

Registered: 2010-08-26

Posts: 623

Re: [Solved] HTML5 - do I need to close void tags?

lolilolicon, yeah, it says pretty definitely:

Void elements only have a start tag; end tags must not be specified for void elements.
...
A non-void element must have an end tag...

karol, thanks but link you posted seems not to be official site whereas dev.w3.org is official. So I guess we don't need to close <hr>, <br> and other void tags.

lolilolicon

Member

Registered: 2009-03-05

Posts: 1,722

Re: [Solved] HTML5 - do I need to close void tags?

Mr. Alex, I think you might have misunderstood it -- <hr/> is a start tag:

start tags consist of the following parts, in exactly the following order:

    A "<" character.
    The element’s tag name.
    Optionally, one or more attributes, each of which must be preceded by one or more space characters.
    Optionally, one or more space characters.
    Optionally, a "/" character, which may be present only if the element is a void element.
    A ">" character.

so in HTML5, each one of <hr>, <hr >, <hr/> and <hr /> is correct.

(...also there's the "unless..." part following "A non-void element must have an end tag".)

Last edited by lolilolicon (2011-09-18 15:34:01)

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Mr. Alex

Member

Registered: 2010-08-26

Posts: 623

Re: [Solved] HTML5 - do I need to close void tags?

OK, thanks.

karol

Archivist

Registered: 2009-05-06

Posts: 25,440

Re: [Solved] HTML5 - do I need to close void tags?

I forgot to post that http://w3schools.com/html5/tag_hr.asp is xhtml and not html5 so looking at the code of that page is irrelevant to the issue in question.
Should have checked this in the first place.

I now agree with lolilolicon that at least atm the '/' in <hr/> (and in other void elements) is optional. Furthermore, searching the current drafts, specs and recommendations I could only find <hr> in every example :-)
Adding '/' may have some benefits or it may be good practice, but it's not obligatory.

If your questions has been answered, please mark this thread as solved.