New-Window TARGET Attribute Doesn’t Validate XHTML Strict
One of the biggest complaints that I hear from designers who have moved from Transitional (sometimes even no doctype at all) to XHTML Strict or 1.1 is that the TARGET tag they’ve relied on for so long doesn’t validate anymore. And lets face it if you’re going through the effort of using standards compliant web site code, seeing that green validation cue is the equivalent of a nerdgasm.
Both the HTML 4.0 Strict and XHTML 1.0 Strict recommendations from the W3C have both eliminated TARGET completely. The justification is that it should be the user, not the web site, who decides whether or not a link opens in a new window, a new tab or the same window. I personally tend to agree. Forcing a new window to open essentially “breaks” the back button.
Luckily for TARGET diehards there is another way if you’re not enlightened enough to free yourself from the new-window shackles. The DOM 2.0 standard, which was published well after the HTML 4.0 Strict and XHTML 1.0 Strict recommendations, still includes the target attribute.
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