Re: The nl2br() function and browser handling of multiple BR tags

On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 7:55 PM, <mezzanine@safe-mail.net> wrote: > The current functionality of the nl2br() function is to insert a > <br /> tag before each newline in a string. (If the $is_xhtml > parameter is set to false, <br> tags will be inserted instead of > <br /> tags.) According to the documentation for version 2.8.7 of > the Lynx browser, the correct method for inserting blank lines into > an HTML document is to enclose a sequence of newlines between PRE > tags. In addition, the Lynx browser may collapse a sequence of > multiple BR tags into a single line break, depending on how the > browser is configured. More details about this aspect of the Lynx > browser are available at > <http://lynx.isc.org/release/lynx2-8-7/ > lynx_help/body.html#COLLAPSE_BR_TAGS> on the Web. The HTML 4.01 > specification talks about the BR tag in section 9.3.2.1; details are > available at < >http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224/struct/ > text.html#h-9.3.2.1> on the Web. The specification states that "[t]he > BR element forcibly breaks (ends) the current line of text," though > it is not clear as to the situation where a "line of text" consists > entirely of white space, or when two or more BR elements are separated > by newlines. > > The question is, should the nl2br() function be changed to enclose > sequences of multiple newlines in PRE tags, as opposed to inserting a > BR element before each newline? (For that matter, what exactly is the > correct method for rendering multiple newlines for an HTML document?) > As a possible alternative, would it be useful add a note about the > issue of multiple newlines and HTML rendering by browsers to the > documentation for the nl2br() function? > I can't tell if this is first class quality trolling or not :) But no, the nl2br() will not change this (imagine the backwards compatibility break). The reason why lynx has this option is probably to preserve screen real-estate as many website are silly and use <br> tags to wrap content around images.. which you don't see in lynx anyway. -Hannes