Optional Closing Tags in HTML

[Big Mountain]

For as long as I've been validating web pages, I never realized that the closing </head> tag was optional in HTML. I feel as if I've missed the boat at times.

While I'm all for trimming excess code, I just cannot for the life of me strip out closing tags because they are optional in HTML. I'd be concerned that something, somewhere would not parse the document correctly if I removed the closing </head> element.

Are my concerns unfounded?

[John]

I find it hard to believe that not closing your head tag is XHTML compliant.

[WingedPanther]

As people move towards using XHTML instead of HTML, the closing tags will stop being optional.

[Jordan]

I did not know this either and it seems against standards.

[Gabriel]

why would they put it in as opptional in the first place? Would they do that in order to entice people to use it? I mean with out closing tagss it would "seem" alot easier.

[TcM]

Well I don't know what you mean by optional, it's either that the webpage will be still displayed correctly, or it is with the standards....

[Rothzael]

If you want valid markup, you should close the tags.

[xXHalfSliceXx]

Duplicate post.....

http://forum.codecall.net/html-progr...tags-html.html

Looks like Promotion of Rothzael's signature,

Which looks like a free service.

[Rothzael]

Originally Posted by xXHalfSliceXx

Duplicate post.....

http://forum.codecall.net/html-progr...tags-html.html

Looks like Promotion of Rothzael's signature,

Which looks like a free service.

Um, sorry. I posted in that thread, then realised that the thread was a duplicate and everyone was actually posting in this one.

[chili5]

wow I didn't know that I was always taught to close head tag.

I thought that it was always required since the beginning of HTML.