In XSLT 1.0, the only way to generate XHTML is to use the
XML output
method. That will correctly generate close tags for all elements.
Keep in mind, though, that most processors will minimize empty
elements when serializing XML output (i.e., <br/> instead of
<br></br>). That isn't a problem for most XHTML elements,
but it can
be an issue if you create a textarea box with no text--it will be
serialized as <textarea . . . />, which will cause IE (at least) to
choke--it doesn't parse the tag correctly, so all of the XHTML
following the textarea box appears as text in the box
instead of being
rendered by the browser.
So this just means that IE doesn't support XHTML. Live with it (and
complain to Microsoft :-)
True, but this doesn't help the here and now. Whether we like it or not
IE is the browser of choice (just like M$ Office is the cross-platform
choice).
There are many techniques you can use when the html output method is not
an option, but I would suggest using the latest Saxon (7.x) with its
"xhtml" output method. Failing that simply put something (comment,
dummy element etc) in the output to ensure the tag doesn't get
minimised.
XSL-List info and archive: http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list