Alternative to custom attributes?

Question

If let's say I require an <img> to store a certain information(arbitrary snippets of metadata for JS) about that element.

e.g. <img class="slider-img" rel="1" src="image.png" />

So i.e in a slider, I would be able to grab that img with rel="1"

What are some alternatives instead of creating/misusing attributes (xbrowser && backward compatible)?

Here are some I found that's currently being used:

HTML5, data-*
rel attribute
class/id attribute
custom attributes (Dojo)

What kind of information? With title and alt, it's visible to the user but could be nice for description for example. — stracktracer, Aug 23 '11 at 09:05
possible duplicate of [XHTML validation, custom namespaces and attributes](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/581279/xhtml-validation-custom-namespaces-and-attributes) — Sam Becker, Aug 23 '11 at 09:08
Sorry, you could understand it as information not meant to be relevant any of the current attributes. Like date-added for example. In html5 i would do it like data-date-added="12-01-11" — hamahama, Aug 23 '11 at 09:11
I'd go for data-* attribute. Mostly because it's the way forward in the future. — Exelian, Aug 23 '11 at 09:24

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 23 '11 at 09:07

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You can use "longdesc" attribute, it is a valid w3 code, though it is not supported by any major browsers, so you can use it to store your information.

answered Aug 23 '11 at 09:07

Tumay

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Would unsupported attributes like that cause any issues, other than the HTML not being validated? – hamahama Aug 23 '11 at 09:09
Nah, all browser can parse unsupported attributes like that. – Exelian Aug 23 '11 at 09:23

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:06

XML allows for whatever you want for your elements.

Check out: http://www.bennadel.com/blog/547-jQuery-Custom-Selectors-Holy-Cow-That-Is-So-Badass-.htm

<img class="slider-img" rel="1" src="image.png" myOwnAttribute="MineNotYours"/>

It might not validate against an HTml5 validator, but it is still valid XML / HTML5. Newer browsers and older browsers work with it, they will just ignore what they don't know.

Another SO post on it: Is it OK to add your own attributes to HTML elements?

Alternative to custom attributes?

2 Answers2