Validation of html within inline javascript

If you are finding you need to use javascript inside an html or xhtml file and it won’t validate, then here is a little tip for you.

If you surround all your javascript with <![CDATA[ and ]]> tags, all will come good.

The CDATA is seen by the validator as data which doesn’t need checking. So this:

<script>
document.getElementById('container').innerHTML('<p>hello</p>');
</script>

becomes this:

<script>
<![CDATA[
document.getElementById('container').innerHTML('<p>hello</p>');
]]>
</script>

Another option is to escape < and > characters server-side / in the file and then unescape with javascript

<script>
document.getElementById('container').innerHTML('&lt;p&gt;hello&lt;/p&gt;'.replace('/&lt;/','<').replace('/&gt;/','>'));
</script>

Posted by Harry at 1:43 pm on April 21st, 2010. No comments... »
Categories: Javascript, The Web.

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