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Re: The Web (HTML) Sux

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>>><https://www.cphysics.org/>

On Sat, 20 Dec 2025 14:42:07 -0000 (UTC), Lars Poulsen wrote:
>> That page is written in HTML+CSS. I don't think it is hand written,
>> though. So it is almost a counter-proof to your theorem that HTML sucks.

On 2025-12-20, Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> wrote:
> That page is only a "container" that presents links for PDF documents.
> It has to be written in HTML because that is the protocol for web servers.
>
> But the actual content is delivered in the PDF format and that is the
> significant aspect.
>
> Read his "style" page to discover his reasons:
>    <https://www.cphysics.org/style>
> I would agree.  Indeed, the majority of academic material is already
> distributed as PDF documents, using only an HTML "front page" to deliver
> the links.
>
> With PDF, or other open formats, there is no need for an author
> to concern himself with the ridiculous task of accommodating 
> every possible viewport.  This I have already stated.
>
> For serious purposes, HTML *is* junk.  It was spawned at a time when
> PCs were very limited and could not present sophisticated audio/visual
> content in a sophisticated manner.  In many ways that is still very true,
> and that's why javascript and WebAssembly have been introduced.  But
> these tools are mere "shoehorns" that never should have happened and
> would be totally unnecessary if Web content were distributed as open
> source file formats.
>
> But it seems that you are some sort of web developer and thus you
> may may feel that your livelihood is threatened by such suggestions.
>
> However, I must always maintain an objectivity and it is my assessment
> that the Web would be much improved if information would be distributed
> as open formats that could be downloaded and displayed on a users machine
> using local software rather than relying on HTML through a browser.

On the contrary, I am NOT a web developer, and I when I put up things on
the web, I do not care about formatting: I make it as simple as I can,
in the same kind of "wall of text with a few embedded images" that was
the norm in 1995. No JavaScript, no PHP; if I need backend code, it is
a simple Perl script that generates simple, primitive HTML. I do not
even use CSS.

-- 
Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California

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Thread

The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-20 11:41 +0000
  Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> - 2025-12-20 13:45 +0000
    Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Tyrone <none@none.none> - 2025-12-20 14:21 +0000
      Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-20 14:26 +0000
    Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-20 14:22 +0000
      Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> - 2025-12-20 14:55 +0000
        Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-20 15:19 +0000
        Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Tyrone <none@none.none> - 2025-12-20 15:20 +0000
          Re: The Web (HTML) Sux DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2026-01-05 11:54 -0500
            Re: The Web (HTML) Sux CrudeSausage <crude@sausa.ge> - 2026-01-05 13:30 -0500
    Re: The Web (HTML) Sux rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-12-21 05:14 +0000
  Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> - 2025-12-20 14:42 +0000
    Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-20 15:13 +0000
      Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> - 2025-12-20 16:24 +0000
        Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-20 16:33 +0000
          Re: The Web (HTML) Sux "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-12-20 19:47 +0100
      Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> - 2025-12-20 17:20 +0000
    Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Tyrone <none@none.none> - 2025-12-20 15:18 +0000
    Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-12-21 04:41 +0000
  Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Beej Jorgensen <beej@beej.us> - 2025-12-23 00:48 +0000
    Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-23 08:04 +0000
      Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> - 2025-12-26 18:37 +0000
        Re: The Web (HTML) Sux MoonBatz McGuirk <mbzmcg@localhost.com> - 2025-12-26 13:49 -0500
          Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-26 19:37 +0000
            Re: The Web (HTML) Sux "Joel W. Crump" <joelcrump@gmail.com> - 2025-12-26 14:42 -0500
            Re: The Web (HTML) Sux MoonBatz McGuirk <mbzmcg@localhost.com> - 2025-12-26 15:13 -0500
          Re: The Web (HTML) Sux CrudeSausage <crude@sausa.ge> - 2025-12-26 18:57 -0500
        Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Diego Garcia <dg@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-26 19:47 +0000
          Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> - 2025-12-27 12:45 +0000
            Re: The Web (HTML) Sux Farley Flud <ff@linux.rocks> - 2025-12-27 18:22 +0000
    Re: The Web (HTML) Sux DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2026-01-04 19:08 -0500

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