xhtml strict <textarea>

[seodevhead]

The validator says I have to include a rows and cols attribute value for every <textarea>? Is this true for XHTML Strict?

I set the height and width with CSS... but now if I have to do it with XHTML... do I just delete my CSS specs for the height and width of the textarea?

Thanks.

[xhtmlcoder]

Only if you want to remove the CSS though rows and cols can mean different things to width and height with CSS.

[brandaggio]

The validator says I have to include a rows and cols attribute value for every <textarea>? Is this true for XHTML Strict?

I set the height and width with CSS... but now if I have to do it with XHTML... do I just delete my CSS specs for the height and width of the textarea?

Thanks.

If you want to validate to a strict doctype you need to include the attributes (which will be overridden/applied if CSS is) - this is so that the textarea has something close to the shape you would like in the absense of CSS.

[Dan Schulz]

Think of it this way. The XHTML attributes (which are required) would act like a Plan B (for those who don't have CSS enabled). When designing with CSS, you have to keep the actual page structure in mind. Especially for those using assistive devices like screen readers and those who have browsers that do not support CSS.