why does screwed up source code work?

[richard]

As an example, take a look at any google images results page.
In Firefox you can select an area, highlite it, then click "view
selection source".
You'll see in the line <font color="#008000">
I kid you not.

I ran one page through the validator and it found a mere 320 errors.
I could not believe that these expert programmers are coming up with
stuff that does not exist and yet works.

I mean like there is a tag in html for <font face ="">???

 

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

As an example, take a look at any google images results page. In
Firefox you can select an area, highlite it, then click "view
selection source".
You'll see in the line <font color="#008000">
I kid you not.

Yeahhhh... you are kidding, aren't you, RtS?

I ran one page through the validator and it found a mere 320 errors. I
could not believe that these expert programmers are coming up with
stuff that does not exist and yet works.

That google code hasn't been updated in a hundred years. So what? It
still works. Your browser understands it.

I mean like there is a tag in html for <font face ="">???

I answered this for you in 24hoursupport.helpdesk

<p>
<font color="#008000">What color am I?</font>
<font face="Times New Roman">What font am I?</font>
</p>

In answer to the question in your subject line, it's because browsers
can still read HTML 3.2 and are able to correct errors.

 

[rf]

As an example, take a look at any google images results page.
In Firefox you can select an area, highlite it, then click "view
selection source".
You'll see in the line <font color="#008000">
I kid you not.

And what is wrong with that? Deprecated, sure, but perfectly valid with a
traditional DTD.

I ran one page through the validator and it found a mere 320 errors.

Not unusual.

I could not believe that these expert programmers are coming up with
stuff that does not exist and yet works.

Happens all the time. Never heard of browser error correction? Most dimwit
web drezigners rely on it.

I mean like there is a tag in html for <font face ="">???

Yes actually there is. More correctly there is a font element and in its
start tag one can include a face attribute along with its value.

Sounds like you have never read the HTML specifications:

http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/present/graphics.html#edef-FONT in particular
and
http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/ in general

 

[Bergamot]

And what is wrong with that? Deprecated, sure, but perfectly valid with a
traditional DTD.

Not that google cares whether it's valid code or not. In this particular case invalid code isn't likely to have any real effect on the user, so why bother changing?

Besides, one of the benefits of being a big fish in a big pond is that you can get away with doing pretty much anything you want.