epub validation error

bushman1 · 06-01-2015, 01:06 PM

Hello Forum,
I am trying to format a manuscript and I have run into one problem that I have not been able to solve. A simple strike through piece of text. It fails the epub validator (http://validator.idpf.org/)

This is the HTML/CSS. Very simple. It displays fine on ereader and browser but fails with error code... ERROR EPUB test.html line 10 position 72 attribute "class" not allowed here; expected attribute "cite" or "datetime"

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<head>
<style type="text/css"> html, body, div, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, ul, ol, dl, li, dt, dd, p, pre, table, th, td, tr { margin: 0; padding: 0em; }
p {text-indent: 1.5em; margin-bottom: .2em;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>I’d just pull out my handy <del>abacus , slide rule</del> , calculator to do my figuring. </p>
</body>

Everything I've researched says that is valid HTML. All I want is for the specific text to have a strike through. Tag "s" fails also but is being replaced with the newer "del" tags. The cite and datetime are supposed to be optional attributes but the validator seems to be insisting on attributes. Does anybody have a clue why the epub validator is having a problem with this? Is it a validator bug? Thank you so much for any input.

Toxaris · 06-01-2015, 01:18 PM

It is valid HTML, but not valid XHTML. Since ePUB must contain XHTML, it will not work. You should use the following:

Code:

.strike {text-decoration: line-through;}

in the stylesheet and in the XHTML:

Code:

<p>I&rsquo;d just pull out my handy <span class="strike">abacus , slide rule</span> , calculator to do my figuring. </p>

bushman1 · 06-01-2015, 01:49 PM

Toxaris...

Results: Congratulations! No problems were found.

You are a wizard. You are awesome. Thank you very much for your prompt help. I implemented your suggestion and it passed the validator. A good lesson learned. I need to pay attention to the X HTML. Have a great day!!

dgatwood · 06-04-2015, 12:09 AM

And IIRC, there's also no requirement in the spec that a reader must render <del> as a strike-through, so even if you were using HTML 5/EPUB 3, you'd still be better off using CSS.

bushman1 · 06-05-2015, 01:50 AM

Thanks dgatwood. That was a great answer from Toxaris and solved the problem.

06-01-2015, 01:06 PM	#1
bushman1 Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: none	epub validation error Hello Forum, I am trying to format a manuscript and I have run into one problem that I have not been able to solve. A simple strike through piece of text. It fails the epub validator (http://validator.idpf.org/) This is the HTML/CSS. Very simple. It displays fine on ereader and browser but fails with error code... ERROR EPUB test.html line 10 position 72 attribute "class" not allowed here; expected attribute "cite" or "datetime" <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> <head> <style type="text/css"> html, body, div, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, ul, ol, dl, li, dt, dd, p, pre, table, th, td, tr { margin: 0; padding: 0em; } p {text-indent: 1.5em; margin-bottom: .2em;} </style> </head> <body> <p>I’d just pull out my handy <del>abacus , slide rule</del> , calculator to do my figuring. </p> </body> Everything I've researched says that is valid HTML. All I want is for the specific text to have a strike through. Tag "s" fails also but is being replaced with the newer "del" tags. The cite and datetime are supposed to be optional attributes but the validator seems to be insisting on attributes. Does anybody have a clue why the epub validator is having a problem with this? Is it a validator bug? Thank you so much for any input.

06-01-2015, 01:18 PM	#2
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	It is valid HTML, but not valid XHTML. Since ePUB must contain XHTML, it will not work. You should use the following: Code: .strike {text-decoration: line-through;} in the stylesheet and in the XHTML: Code: <p>I’d just pull out my handy <span class="strike">abacus , slide rule</span> , calculator to do my figuring. </p>

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06-01-2015, 01:49 PM	#3
bushman1 Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: none	Toxaris... Results: Congratulations! No problems were found. You are a wizard. You are awesome. Thank you very much for your prompt help. I implemented your suggestion and it passed the validator. A good lesson learned. I need to pay attention to the X HTML. Have a great day!!

06-04-2015, 12:09 AM	#4
dgatwood Curmudgeon Posts: 629 Karma: 1623086 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: iPad, iPhone, Nook Simple Touch	And IIRC, there's also no requirement in the spec that a reader must render <del> as a strike-through, so even if you were using HTML 5/EPUB 3, you'd still be better off using CSS.

06-05-2015, 01:50 AM	#5
bushman1 Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: none	Thanks dgatwood. That was a great answer from Toxaris and solved the problem.