Line 6, Column 12: there is no attribute "NAME"
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="this is the description text"
✉
You have used the attribute named above in your document, but the document type you are using does not support that attribute for this element. This error is often caused by incorrect use of the "Strict" document type with a document that uses frames (e.g. you must use the "Transitional" document type to get the "target" attribute), or by using vendor proprietary extensions such as "marginheight" (this is usually fixed by using CSS to achieve the desired effect instead).
The other 3 errors relate to the same META data but the page is Transitional?
Is this something to be concerned about and if so what can I do to remove the error?
Maybe I was a bit more abrupt than I might have been, but tamilsuresh gave a very clear and concise answer, explicitly pointing out one problem (lowercase) with your code and implicitly pointing out the other (trailing slash). Your reply simply reposted your code without appearing to take any notice of what had been suggested. Sorry if you felt I was being harsh, but the reply you had been given could hardly have been more helpful!
Evidently I’m not fully versed in XHTML, it was the first choice I had when creating a new page in Dreamweaver and apart from this one mistake there were no other errors so I don’t think it was a bad job
It’s potentially very dangerous to use XHTML if you don’t know all about it. HTML is far more tolerant of errors, but XHTML is not. As there is currently no advantage in using XHTML for a public-facing website, all you’re doing is setting yourself up for a fall.
Basically, it seems you’re using XHTML (and transitional! when you should be using Strict) because it’s what Dreambeaver starts you out with.
Somewhere in there, you can change that default. You’ll likely be happier with setting it to
HTML4.01 Strict
(just remember then, no /> at the ends of EMPTY elements)
The benefits you’ll get using Strict are great: the validator can catch all sorts of nasty code that Transitional lets you get away with, which is good. Like having a sports coach who tells you your form is bad, so you can improve it and become better.
Stevie D, thanks for your comments although they did feel a little abrasive (or am I just being sensitive? :injured:). I didn’t ignore tamilsuresh, I overlooked the last word (unfortunately the most important one) and the emphasis on that fact in the code
Your explanation was good thank you, I will be sure to remember it. Evidently I’m not fully versed in XHTML, it was the first choice I had when creating a new page in Dreamweaver and apart from this one mistake there were no other errors so I don’t think it was a bad job
I used the example found here http://www.highrankings.com/metadescription (although on a second look it is now clear it says HTML)
which is the first link on Google when entering: meta description as the search criteria. If I’d have gone to the 2nd or 3rd link I probably wouldn’t have made the mistake.
In XHTML, even fauXHTML, all elements and attribute names must be in lowercase. You also need to self-close spot elements. (Of course, you could avoid all this hassle by just using plain ol’ HTML and not messing with XHTML when you don’t know how it works…)
So you need to have
<meta name=“description” content=“Wood Pigeon Shooting in Avon and Warwickshire. We also organise Fox hunting, Rabbit Lamping, Deer Stalking and Angling on the River Avon” />
If you’re a bit hazy about XHTML and what it does differently to HTML, or you want to know more about the dis/advantages of each format, an excellent place to start is the Sitepoint Sticky at the top of this very forum!
You are right, tamilsuresh’s gave all the information I needed, I failed to read it properly and just skimmed over it and assumed to know what was being said…how wrong I was!
I didn’t realise this at all. Again with my incorrect assumptions and lack of knowledge but diving straight in thinking I know what’s what! I think I need to take time and read up on the subject and until then make sure I’m using HTML.
Dreamweaver did set the page to XHTML & Strict, but then I got the error in the validator, which to me just suggested that the problem was because it was strict so I changed that only, not realising the problems associated to it.
Thank you both for taking the time to explain all this all to me, I think the most valuable thing for me to take away from all this is to ‘read up on and understand the choices in front of me before doing anything’
no, no, no, never meant semantic there, just a figure of … typing emphasis on “can catch” there, as opposed to “will catch”, which is not (detecting).
about the validator, for transitional or strict: using improper block content for elements that can take both inline and block, inside an element which can only have inline content is also not detected by a validator.
i believe that an html validator is not even half good when it comes to make your code better. and that applies to any other language out there.
Off Topic:
function? lawlz
“Objects.
Objects!
Heh.
We ALL need stinkin’ objects.”
just for the fun of it i’ll try and write egg and chicken java classes and then put egg and chicken objects to battle ( although i will need to decide which one is the superclass… )
Thanks tamilsuresh, that was just the way w3c cut off the words.
This is the head
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
<title>Deer Stalking</title>
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="Wood Pigeon Shooting in Avon and Warwickshire. We also organise Fox hunting, Rabbit Lamping, Deer Stalking and Angling on the River Avon">
<link href="scripts/stickyfooter.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
</head>
the can being the semantic element there will it? who cares
No clue what you’re talking about; nobody mentioned semantics, but validation. Meaning <font> tags, <u> tags, and attributes such as “align” and “target”. The validator can catch those. It cannot catch everything: for example, it will not realise you have left out the otherwise-required “legend” element after a fieldset in a form if you’ve used wrapping divs around your label-input pairs… somehow the divs being in there will trip up the validator.
So it won’t necessarily catch ALL your deprecated code, but can catch a lot more than using Transitional DTD.
Off Topic:
public class? lawlz
“Classes?
Classes?
Heh.
We don’t need no stinkin’ classes.”
). I didn’t ignore tamilsuresh, I overlooked the last word (unfortunately the most important one) and the emphasis on that fact in the code
( although i will need to decide which one is the superclass… 
) 