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by Ian Lloyd

type (HTML attribute)

Browser support full matrix
IE5.5+ FF1+ Saf1.3+ Op9.2+
Full Full Full Full
Spec
Depr. Version
No HTML 4
type="MIME type"

Example

The script identified as plain text content comprising JavaScript code:

<script type="text/javascript"
src="/scripts/complex.js"></script>

Description

In HTML 4, the method for identifying the make-up of the contents inside the script element was tidied up. The non-standard language was pushed aside for the type attribute - which is a required attribute.

Value

Instead of specifying scripting language and versions (as with the language attribute), the type attribute requires a MIME type, which consists of a media type and subtype. In the case of JavaScript it would be "text/javascript".

Compatibility

IE5.5Full
6.0Full
7.0Full
Firefox1.0Full
1.5Full
2.0Full
Safari1.3Full
2.0Full
3.0Full
Opera9.2Full
9.5Full

There is a small issue regarding this attribute, or rather the attribute value shown in the example above ("text/javascript"). According to RFC 4329, the "text/javascript" media type is obsolete and should be replaced by "application/javascript", however the latter isn't supported by Internet Explorer.

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