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by DiabloD3 5231 days ago
Wouldn't <html/> be the smallest?
3 comments
pdw 5231 days ago
The shortest HTML4 (and earlier) document is

  <title//x
This uses the never-implemented but legal shorttag syntax for the required title element, and the "x" character serves as the body content.
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tomelders 5231 days ago
I would have thought that

<!DOCTYPE html>0

would be the smallest.

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eliam 5231 days ago
Smallest what? There's no DOCTYPE.
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knowtheory 5231 days ago
It's worth adding that the DOCTYPE is what specifies what HTML rendering engine IE 7 and 8 use. A document without the DOCTYPE directive will render in quirks mode, and nobody wants that.
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