meta Element
Module
The meta element is declared by the XHTML 1.1 Metainformation Module
This is the only element in this Module.
Description
The meta element comes in two distinct guises, one where the
name attribute is used and one where the http-equiv attribute
is used.
Using the name Attribute
The name attribute can be used to define the name
of a parameter which gives information about the document.
The value of this parameter is then given in the content
attribute. The scheme attribute is used if it is necessary to
provide clarification as to the format of the data given in the content attribute
and, if required, the xml:lang attribute can be used to specify the language of
this data.
For example:
There are no prescribed legal values for name, content or scheme attributes,
but it is recommended (but not widely practised) to define the permitted values for name
(along with expected content and any possible scheme
interpretations) in a metadata profile, which is then specified in the profile attribute
of the document's head element.
Using the http-equiv Attribute
Using the http-equiv attribute allows the
meta element to mimic a particular
HTTP header
from within the document itself. It should be as though
that particular HTTP header was sent by the server itself.
For example, the following code would mimic the header Content-Style-Type: text/css
<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
This can be useful to specify information within a document which is not being served by a web server.
See also the X-UA-Compatible HTTP header.
#REQUIRED Attributes
The content attribute is #REQUIRED on the meta element.
Specific Attributes
meta element are listed below:From the Metainformation Module - the Element's own Module
content[ type CDATA - #REQUIRED ]- Meta property value
http-equiv[ type NMTOKEN ]- May be used instead of the
nameattribute to state that the property value in thecontentattribute mimics the HTTP header specified in this attribute name[ type NMTOKEN ]- Meta property name
scheme[ type CDATA ]- Meta data sheme used - helps correct interpretation of
content
Common Attributes
meta element are listed below:From the Core Attribute Collection
From the I18N Attribute Collection
dir[ type Enumeration(ltr | rtl)], from the Bi-directional Text Module- Left-to-right or right-to-left directionality
xml:lang[ type LanguageCode ]- A language code for the element
Content Model
The Content Model for themeta element is:
EMPTY
See Content Model & Nesting for information about Content Model syntax and Nesting Groups.
Valid children of meta
This element is empty and may have no children.
Valid parents of meta
- From the Structure Module:
head
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Copyright © Sally Maughan 2005-2009 (Page last updated on 01 Oct 2009)
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Content based on the W3C Working Draft: *XHTML 1.1 and Recommendation: *XHTML Modularisation 1.1.
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