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Survey Layout is built using XHTML version 1.0. XHTML 1.0 is the first step toward a modular and extensible web-based XML (Extensible Markup Language). It is the reformulation of HTML 4 as an application of XML.
Note: You can still use HTML code, since browsers will also render that. However, you will then not benefit from the advantages of using XHTML.
When using XHTML the code is much stricter than with normal HTML. When working with Survey Layouts, Authoring will automatically create code that conforms to the following:
- The document must be well formed (elements nest properly).
- All tags must be written in lowercase.
- All attributes, even numerical ones, must be quoted.
- All elements must also be closed, including empty elements such as img and br. Do this by adding a closing slash to the start tag: <img … /> and <br />.
- Attribute minimization (for example, <option selected>) is prohibited; instead, use <option selected="selected">.
Using Survey Layouts provides many advantages:
- Complete control and full flexibility of look and feel for every interview page.
- Surveys are cross-browser compliant (Opera, Firefox, Safari +++).
- Simpler transition to other modes (for example wireless devices).
- Simpler to switch between different layouts for a survey.
- Dynamic/conditional formatting.
- Better permission control over survey layouts.
Extensibility
Under HTML, an SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) application, the addition of a new group of elements requires alteration of the entire DTD (language specification). In an XML-based DTD, all that is required is that the new set of elements be internally consistent and well-formed to be added to an existing DTD.
Cleaner, More Logical Markup
XHTML brings uniformity to document structure. It delivers a standardized markup that separates display and layout code from syntax, making the creation, maintenance, and analysis of documents much easier for all involved.
Increased Portability
Unlike old–style HTML pages, valid, well–formed XHTML documents can easily be “transported” to wireless devices, Braille readers, and other specialized web environments. Moreover, XHTML’s insistence on clean, rule–based markup helps avoiding the kind of errors that can make web pages fail even in traditional browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and Opera Software’s Opera browser.
Greater Accessibility
Well-authored XHTML pages are more accessible than the old-style HTML pages because they follow strict rules and avoid non-standard markup. This helps you to comply with regulations and Web Accessibility guidelines.
The Web Accessibility guidelines are intended to enable people with physical disabilities to use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web.
Several countries have implemented policies on accessibility, for example United States (section 255 of the Telecommunications Act, Rehabilitation Act: section 504 and section 508, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)) and United Kingdom (Disability Discrimination Act).
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) works with organizations around the world to develop guidelines and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities. Read more about this at www.w3.org/WAI. The WAI site includes full guidelines on accessibility (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10) as well as other resources.
Accessibility functionality is available in Authoring (go to About Accessibility for more information).
CSS Cascading Style Sheets
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a standard layout language for the Web - one that controls colors, typography, size and positioning of elements and images. This technology is bandwidth-friendly - a single 10K CSS document can control the appearance of an entire website, comprising thousands of pages and hundreds of megabytes. CSS is intended by its creators (W3C) to replace HTML table-based layouts, frames, and other presentational hacks. CSS (together with other web standards such as XHTML) helps separate style from content, making the Web more accessible, and opening it up to more powerful applications and technologies to come.
Laying out pages using CSS instead of HTML tables (or using CSS simply to replace redundant, non–standard HTML hacks, such as invalid extensions to the <font> tag or the <body> tag) provides the following benefits:
- Conserve bandwidth (less markup for respondents to download).
- Reduce design/development time.
- Reduce updating and maintenance time.
- Increased accessibility (fewer, or no, HTML tables; no invalid junk markup).
- Better, more professional appearance (line–height, borders, padding, margins).
- Increased readability (line–height, borders, padding, margins).
For further information on Cascading Style Sheets, it is suggested that you refer to the official World Wide Web Consortium web site at http://www.w3.org/style/css.