HTML: The Living Standard

Edition for Web Developers — Last Updated 17 December 2024

1. 1. 2.3 Common microsyntaxes
      1. 2.3.1 Boolean attributes
      2. 2.3.2 Keywords and enumerated attributes
      3. 2.3.3 Numbers
         1. 2.3.3.1 Signed integers
         2. 2.3.3.2 Non-negative integers
         3. 2.3.3.3 Floating-point numbers
         4. 2.3.3.4 Lists of floating-point numbers
      4. 2.3.4 Dates and times
         1. 2.3.4.1 Months
         2. 2.3.4.2 Dates
         3. 2.3.4.3 Yearless dates
         4. 2.3.4.4 Times
         5. 2.3.4.5 Local dates and times
         6. 2.3.4.6 Time zones
         7. 2.3.4.7 Global dates and times
         8. 2.3.4.8 Weeks
         9. 2.3.4.9 Durations
         10. 2.3.4.10 Vaguer moments in time
      5. 2.3.5 Space-separated tokens
      6. 2.3.6 Comma-separated tokens
      7. 2.3.7 References
      8. 2.3.8 Media queries
      9. 2.3.9 Unique internal values

2.3 Common microsyntaxes

There are various places in HTML that accept particular data types, such as dates or numbers. This section describes what the conformance criteria for content in those formats is, and how to parse them.

2.3.1 Boolean attributes

A number of attributes are boolean attributes. The presence of a boolean attribute on an element represents the true value, and the absence of the attribute represents the false value.

If the attribute is present, its value must either be the empty string or a value that is an ASCII case-insensitive match for the attribute's canonical name, with no leading or trailing whitespace.

The values "true" and "false" are not allowed on boolean attributes. To represent a false value, the attribute has to be omitted altogether.

<label><input type=checkbox checked name=cheese disabled> Cheese</label>

<label><input type=checkbox checked=checked name=cheese disabled=disabled> Cheese</label>

<label><input type='checkbox' checked name=cheese disabled=""> Cheese</label>

2.3.2 Keywords and enumerated attributes

Some attributes, called enumerated attributes, take on a finite set of states. The state for such an attribute is derived by combining the attribute's value, a set of keyword/state mappings given in the specification of each attribute, and two possible special states that can also be given in the specification of the attribute. These special states are the invalid value default and the missing value default.

Multiple keywords can map to the same state.

The empty string can be a valid keyword. Note that the missing value default applies only when the attribute is missing, not when it is present with an empty string value.

To determine the state of an attribute, use the following steps:

1. If the attribute is not specified:

   1. If the attribute has a missing value default state defined, then return that missing value default state.

   2. Otherwise, return no state.

2. If the attribute's value is an ASCII case-insensitive match for one of the keywords defined for the attribute, then return the state represented by that keyword.

3. If the attribute has an invalid value default state defined, then return that invalid value default state.

4. Return no state.

For authoring conformance purposes, if an enumerated attribute is specified, the attribute's value must be an ASCII case-insensitive match for one of the conforming keywords for that attribute, with no leading or trailing whitespace.

For reflection purposes, states which have any keywords mapping to them are said to have a canonical keyword. This is determined as follows:

• If there is only one keyword mapping to the given state, then it is that keyword.

• If there is only one conforming keyword mapping to the given state, then it is that conforming keyword.

• Otherwise, the canonical keyword for the state will be explicitly given in the specification for the attribute.

2.3.3 Numbers

2.3.3.1 Signed integers

A string is a valid integer if it consists of one or more ASCII digits, optionally prefixed with a U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-).

A valid integer without a U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS (-) prefix represents the number that is represented in base ten by that string of digits. A valid integer with a U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS (-) prefix represents the number represented in base ten by the string of digits that follows the U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS, subtracted from zero.

2.3.3.2 Non-negative integers

A string is a valid non-negative integer if it consists of one or more ASCII digits.

A valid non-negative integer represents the number that is represented in base ten by that string of digits.

2.3.3.3 Floating-point numbers

A string is a valid floating-point number if it consists of:

1. Optionally, a U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-).

2. One or both of the following, in the given order:

   1. A series of one or more ASCII digits.

   2. Both of the following, in the given order:

      1. A single U+002E FULL STOP character (.).

      2. A series of one or more ASCII digits.

3. Optionally:

   1. Either a U+0065 LATIN SMALL LETTER E character (e) or a U+0045 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E character (E).

   2. Optionally, a U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-) or U+002B PLUS SIGN character (+).

   3. A series of one or more ASCII digits.

A valid floating-point number represents the number obtained by multiplying the significand by ten raised to the power of the exponent, where the significand is the first number, interpreted as base ten (including the decimal point and the number after the decimal point, if any, and interpreting the significand as a negative number if the whole string starts with a U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-) and the number is not zero), and where the exponent is the number after the E, if any (interpreted as a negative number if there is a U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-) between the E and the number and the number is not zero, or else ignoring a U+002B PLUS SIGN character (+) between the E and the number if there is one). If there is no E, then the exponent is treated as zero.

The Infinity and Not-a-Number (NaN) values are not valid floating-point numbers.

2.3.3.4 Lists of floating-point numbers

A valid list of floating-point numbers is a number of valid floating-point numbers separated by U+002C COMMA characters, with no other characters (e.g. no ASCII whitespace). In addition, there might be restrictions on the number of floating-point numbers that can be given, or on the range of values allowed.

2.3.4 Dates and times

In the algorithms below, the number of days in month month of year year is: 31 if month is 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, or 12; 30 if month is 4, 6, 9, or 11; 29 if month is 2 and year is a number divisible by 400, or if year is a number divisible by 4 but not by 100; and 28 otherwise. This takes into account leap years in the Gregorian calendar. [GREGORIAN]

When ASCII digits are used in the date and time syntaxes defined in this section, they express numbers in base ten.

Where this specification refers to the proleptic Gregorian calendar, it means the modern Gregorian calendar, extrapolated backwards to year 1. A date in the proleptic Gregorian calendar, sometimes explicitly referred to as a proleptic-Gregorian date, is one that is described using that calendar even if that calendar was not in use at the time (or place) in question. [GREGORIAN]

The use of the Gregorian calendar as the wire format in this specification is an arbitrary choice resulting from the cultural biases of those involved in the decision. See also the section discussing date, time, and number formats in forms and the time element.

2.3.4.1 Months

A month consists of a specific proleptic-Gregorian date with no time-zone information and no date information beyond a year and a month. [GREGORIAN]

A string is a valid month string representing a year year and month month if it consists of the following components in the given order:

1. Four or more ASCII digits, representing year, where year > 0
2. A U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-)
3. Two ASCII digits, representing the month month, in the range 1 ≤ month ≤ 12

2.3.4.2 Dates

A date consists of a specific proleptic-Gregorian date with no time-zone information, consisting of a year, a month, and a day. [GREGORIAN]

A string is a valid date string representing a year year, month month, and day day if it consists of the following components in the given order:

1. A valid month string, representing year and month
2. A U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-)
3. Two ASCII digits, representing day, in the range 1 ≤ day ≤ maxday where maxday is the number of days in the month month and year year

2.3.4.3 Yearless dates

A yearless date consists of a Gregorian month and a day within that month, but with no associated year. [GREGORIAN]

A string is a valid yearless date string representing a month month and a day day if it consists of the following components in the given order:

1. Optionally, two U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS characters (-)
2. Two ASCII digits, representing the month month, in the range 1 ≤ month ≤ 12
3. A U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-)
4. Two ASCII digits, representing day, in the range 1 ≤ day ≤ maxday where maxday is the number of days in the month month and any arbitrary leap year (e.g. 4 or 2000)

In other words, if the month is "02", meaning February, then the day can be 29, as if the year was a leap year.

2.3.4.4 Times

A time consists of a specific time with no time-zone information, consisting of an hour, a minute, a second, and a fraction of a second.

A string is a valid time string representing an hour hour, a minute minute, and a second second if it consists of the following components in the given order:

1. Two ASCII digits, representing hour, in the range 0 ≤ hour ≤ 23
2. A U+003A COLON character (:)
3. Two ASCII digits, representing minute, in the range 0 ≤ minute ≤ 59
4. If second is nonzero, or optionally if second is zero:
   1. A U+003A COLON character (:)
   2. Two ASCII digits, representing the integer part of second, in the range 0 ≤ s ≤ 59
   3. If second is not an integer, or optionally if second is an integer:
      1. A U+002E FULL STOP character (.)
      2. One, two, or three ASCII digits, representing the fractional part of second

The second component cannot be 60 or 61; leap seconds cannot be represented.

2.3.4.5 Local dates and times

A local date and time consists of a specific proleptic-Gregorian date, consisting of a year, a month, and a day, and a time, consisting of an hour, a minute, a second, and a fraction of a second, but expressed without a time zone. [GREGORIAN]

A string is a valid local date and time string representing a date and time if it consists of the following components in the given order:

1. A valid date string representing the date
2. A U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T character (T) or a U+0020 SPACE character
3. A valid time string representing the time

A string is a valid normalized local date and time string representing a date and time if it consists of the following components in the given order:

1. A valid date string representing the date
2. A U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T character (T)
3. A valid time string representing the time, expressed as the shortest possible string for the given time (e.g. omitting the seconds component entirely if the given time is zero seconds past the minute)

2.3.4.6 Time zones

A time-zone offset consists of a signed number of hours and minutes.

A string is a valid time-zone offset string representing a time-zone offset if it consists of either:

• A U+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z character (Z), allowed only if the time zone is UTC

• Or, the following components, in the given order:

  1. Either a U+002B PLUS SIGN character (+) or, if the time-zone offset is not zero, a U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-), representing the sign of the time-zone offset
  2. Two ASCII digits, representing the hours component hour of the time-zone offset, in the range 0 ≤ hour ≤ 23
  3. Optionally, a U+003A COLON character (:)
  4. Two ASCII digits, representing the minutes component minute of the time-zone offset, in the range 0 ≤ minute ≤ 59

This format allows for time-zone offsets from -23:59 to +23:59. Right now, in practice, the range of offsets of actual time zones is -12:00 to +14:00, and the minutes component of offsets of actual time zones is always either 00, 30, or 45. There is no guarantee that this will remain so forever, however, since time zones are used as political footballs and are thus subject to very whimsical policy decisions.

See also the usage notes and examples in the global date and time section below for details on using time-zone offsets with historical times that predate the formation of formal time zones.

2.3.4.7 Global dates and times

A global date and time consists of a specific proleptic-Gregorian date, consisting of a year, a month, and a day, and a time, consisting of an hour, a minute, a second, and a fraction of a second, expressed with a time-zone offset, consisting of a signed number of hours and minutes. [GREGORIAN]

A string is a valid global date and time string representing a date, time, and a time-zone offset if it consists of the following components in the given order:

1. A valid date string representing the date
2. A U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T character (T) or a U+0020 SPACE character
3. A valid time string representing the time
4. A valid time-zone offset string representing the time-zone offset

Times in dates before the formation of UTC in the mid-twentieth century must be expressed and interpreted in terms of UT1 (contemporary Earth solar time at the 0° longitude), not UTC (the approximation of UT1 that ticks in SI seconds). Time before the formation of time zones must be expressed and interpreted as UT1 times with explicit time zones that approximate the contemporary difference between the appropriate local time and the time observed at the location of Greenwich, London.

2.3.4.8 Weeks

A week consists of a week-year number and a week number representing a seven-day period starting on a Monday. Each week-year in this calendaring system has either 52 or 53 such seven-day periods, as defined below. The seven-day period starting on the Gregorian date Monday December 29th 1969 (1969-12-29) is defined as week number 1 in week-year 1970. Consecutive weeks are numbered sequentially. The week before the number 1 week in a week-year is the last week in the previous week-year, and vice versa. [GREGORIAN]

A week-year with a number year has 53 weeks if it corresponds to either a year year in the proleptic Gregorian calendar that has a Thursday as its first day (January 1st), or a year year in the proleptic Gregorian calendar that has a Wednesday as its first day (January 1st) and where year is a number divisible by 400, or a number divisible by 4 but not by 100. All other week-years have 52 weeks.

The week number of the last day of a week-year with 53 weeks is 53; the week number of the last day of a week-year with 52 weeks is 52.

The week-year number of a particular day can be different than the number of the year that contains that day in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The first week in a week-year y is the week that contains the first Thursday of the Gregorian year y.

For modern purposes, a week as defined here is equivalent to ISO weeks as defined in ISO 8601. [ISO8601]

A string is a valid week string representing a week-year year and week week if it consists of the following components in the given order:

1. Four or more ASCII digits, representing year, where year > 0
2. A U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS character (-)
3. A U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W character (W)
4. Two ASCII digits, representing the week week, in the range 1 ≤ week ≤ maxweek, where maxweek is the week number of the last day of week-year year

2.3.4.9 Durations

A duration consists of a number of seconds.

Since months and seconds are not comparable (a month is not a precise number of seconds, but is instead a period whose exact length depends on the precise day from which it is measured) a duration as defined in this specification cannot include months (or years, which are equivalent to twelve months). Only durations that describe a specific number of seconds can be described.

A string is a valid duration string representing a duration t if it consists of either of the following:

• A literal U+0050 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P character followed by one or more of the following subcomponents, in the order given, where the number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds corresponds to the same number of seconds as in t:

  1. One or more ASCII digits followed by a U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D character, representing a number of days.

  2. A U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T character followed by one or more of the following subcomponents, in the order given:

     1. One or more ASCII digits followed by a U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H character, representing a number of hours.

     2. One or more ASCII digits followed by a U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M character, representing a number of minutes.

     3. The following components:

        1. One or more ASCII digits, representing a number of seconds.

        2. Optionally, a U+002E FULL STOP character (.) followed by one, two, or three ASCII digits, representing a fraction of a second.

        3. A U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S character.

  This, as with a number of other date- and time-related microsyntaxes defined in this specification, is based on one of the formats defined in ISO 8601. [ISO8601]

• One or more duration time components, each with a different duration time component scale, in any order; the sum of the represented seconds being equal to the number of seconds in t.

  A duration time component is a string consisting of the following components:

  1. Zero or more ASCII whitespace.

  2. One or more ASCII digits, representing a number of time units, scaled by the duration time component scale specified (see below) to represent a number of seconds.

  3. If the duration time component scale specified is 1 (i.e. the units are seconds), then, optionally, a U+002E FULL STOP character (.) followed by one, two, or three ASCII digits, representing a fraction of a second.

  4. Zero or more ASCII whitespace.

  5. One of the following characters, representing the duration time component scale of the time unit used in the numeric part of the duration time component:

     U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W character

     U+0077 LATIN SMALL LETTER W character

     Weeks. The scale is 604800.

     U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D character

     U+0064 LATIN SMALL LETTER D character

     Days. The scale is 86400.

     U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H character

     U+0068 LATIN SMALL LETTER H character

     Hours. The scale is 3600.

     U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M character

     U+006D LATIN SMALL LETTER M character

     Minutes. The scale is 60.

     U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S character

     U+0073 LATIN SMALL LETTER S character

     Seconds. The scale is 1.

  6. Zero or more ASCII whitespace.

  This is not based on any of the formats in ISO 8601. It is intended to be a more human-readable alternative to the ISO 8601 duration format.

2.3.4.10 Vaguer moments in time

A string is a valid date string with optional time if it is also one of the following:

• A valid date string
• A valid global date and time string

2.3.5 Space-separated tokens

A set of space-separated tokens is a string containing zero or more words (known as tokens) separated by one or more ASCII whitespace, where words consist of any string of one or more characters, none of which are ASCII whitespace.

A string containing a set of space-separated tokens may have leading or trailing ASCII whitespace.

An unordered set of unique space-separated tokens is a set of space-separated tokens where none of the tokens are duplicated.

An ordered set of unique space-separated tokens is a set of space-separated tokens where none of the tokens are duplicated but where the order of the tokens is meaningful.

Sets of space-separated tokens sometimes have a defined set of allowed values. When a set of allowed values is defined, the tokens must all be from that list of allowed values; other values are non-conforming. If no such set of allowed values is provided, then all values are conforming.

How tokens in a set of space-separated tokens are to be compared (e.g. case-sensitively or not) is defined on a per-set basis.

2.3.6 Comma-separated tokens

A set of comma-separated tokens is a string containing zero or more tokens each separated from the next by a single U+002C COMMA character (,), where tokens consist of any string of zero or more characters, neither beginning nor ending with ASCII whitespace, nor containing any U+002C COMMA characters (,), and optionally surrounded by ASCII whitespace.

For instance, the string " a ,b,,d d " consists of four tokens: "a", "b", the empty string, and "d d". Leading and trailing whitespace around each token doesn't count as part of the token, and the empty string can be a token.

Sets of comma-separated tokens sometimes have further restrictions on what consists a valid token. When such restrictions are defined, the tokens must all fit within those restrictions; other values are non-conforming. If no such restrictions are specified, then all values are conforming.

2.3.7 References

A valid hash-name reference to an element of type type is a string consisting of a U+0023 NUMBER SIGN character (#) followed by a string which exactly matches the value of the name attribute of an element with type type in the same tree.

2.3.8 Media queries

A string is a valid media query list if it matches the <media-query-list> production of Media Queries. [MQ]

A string matches the environment of the user if it is the empty string, a string consisting of only ASCII whitespace, or is a media query list that matches the user's environment according to the definitions given in Media Queries. [MQ]

2.3.9 Unique internal values

A unique internal value is a value that is serializable, comparable by value, and never exposed to script.

To create a new unique internal value, return a unique internal value that has never previously been returned by this algorithm.