HTML vs. XHTML
I like to imagine HTML as a laid-back don’t-sweat-the-details kind of person. Perhaps not quite as hard-working as XHTML, but much happier and at ease with herself. XHTML, on the other hand is downright uptight. Always vigilant, never taking a rest. Sure, she gets more done, but what a price!
Before I go off the deep end with my personification of Web page code types, let me tell you the specifics. For starters, know that HTML 4 and XHTML 1.0 use precisely the same elements, attributes, and values. The difference is in the syntax.
Where HTML doesn’t care if you use the html, head and body elements, and DOCTYPE, XHTML requires them.
Where HTML lets you omit some closing tags, XHTML insists on them for every element, even empty ones. ...
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