Frames spec & the NOFRAMES tag

Ben Haller (
Tue, 3 Mar 1998 19:39:17 -0500 (EST)

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 19:39:17 -0500 (EST)
Message-Id: <>
From: Ben Haller <>
Subject: Frames spec & the NOFRAMES tag

  I'm trying to figure out a few things about the frames spec as it  
stands now (i.e. 4.0).
  Please reply to me directly as well as to the list -- I just  
subscribed a few minutes ago & have little confidence that I'll get  
replies sent only to the list, due to lag.

  First of all, am I correct in thinking that with NOFRAMES, there  
is no way to specify those attributes that are normally on the BODY  
tag, such as text color, background, etc.?  Why aren't these also  
attributes on NOFRAMES -- why doesn't it just act identically to  
BODY?  For that matter, why do they even have NOFRAMES -- why not  
just use a BODY, which frames-aware apps would know not to display  
because a FRAMESET was found first, and which frames-unaware apps  
would treat as the body, as intended?
  Secondly, am I correct in thinking that BODY used to be required  
within NOFRAMES, where now it is prohibited, and that FRAMESET is now  
legal within FRAMESET, where you used to have to used a FRAME that  
had an url for a different document with the nested FRAMESET in it?   
Perhaps I shouldn't even worry about such things, but I'd like to  
know how this stuff has evolved, to know what things I'm likely to  
find out there on the Web which may be common despite being  

-Ben Haller
 WebObjects Builder
 Apple Computer, Inc.