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XHTML Attributes

There are some XHTML attributes which are standard and associated to all XHTML tags. The XHTML attributes can be divided in 3 types:

• Core Attributes
• Language Attributes
• Microsoft Proprietary Attributes

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Core Attributes

The core attribute is not valid in base, head, html, meta, param, script, style, and title elements.

Attribute	Value	Description
class	class_rule or style_rule	It specifies the class of the element.
id	id_name	It specifies a unique id for the element.
style	style_definition	It specifies an inline style definition.
title	tooltip_text	It specifies a text to display in a mouse tip.

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Language Attributes

The lang attribute specifies the language which is used for the enclosed content. It uses the ISO standard language abbreviations like fr for French, en for English, and so on. The language attribute is not valid in base, br, frame, frameset, hr, iframe, param, and script elements.

Attribute	Value	Description
dir	ltr | rtl	It is used to set the text direction.
lang	language_code	It is used to set the language code.

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Microsoft Proprietary Attributes

There are some proprietary attributes introduced by Microsoft with the Internet Explorer 4 and higher versions.

Attribute	Value	Description
accesskey	character	It is used to set a keyboard shortcut to access an element.
language	String	This attribute is specifies the scripting language which is used with the script bound to the element, typically through an event handler attribute. Its possible values might include JavaScript, jScript, VBS, and VBScript.
tabindex	Number	It is used to set the tab order of an element.
contenteditable	Boolean	It allows users to edit content rendered in internet explorer 5.5 or greater. Its possible values are true or false.
disabled	Boolean	The disabled attribute makes the element appear faded and will not respond to user input. Its possible values are true or false.
hidefocus	On or Off	This proprietary attribute, introduced with internet explorer 5.5, hides focus on an element’s content. It specifies that focus must be applied to the element using the tabindex attribute.
unselectable	On or Off	It is used to prevent content displayed in internet explorer 5.5 from being selected.