form_hidden and form_submit generate invalid XML

i think it is consensus that form_* functions shouldn't be wrapped into form_item() [1,2]. your problem would be much better fixed by adding an inner <div> to the form() function, ie.

function form($form, ...) {
  // ...
  return '
<form action=...>
  <div>
    $form
  </div>
</form>';
}

[1] Re: [drupal-devel] XHTML validity, part II | http://lists.drupal.org/archives/drupal-devel/2003-06/msg00172.html ("PROBLEM 2: common.inc form_* functions")

[2] Re: [drupal-devel] form_* functions | http://lists.drupal.org/archives/drupal-devel/2002-10/msg00676.html

Attached is a patch to add

The previous attached file is not a good solution. The div ID must be unique so a class should be used instead.

If you submit a patch, use the unified option.

We typically use dashes to separate css id's and classes rather than underscores. Also, the usage of id's is invalid as has been said already.

However, I feel that form_hidden and form_submit is not the place to modify this, as wrapping the buttons in a div means that every one of them occupies its own line (and no, setting the div to inline display is not a good work around). This is bad for forms with multiple buttons (like the node submission form). Instead, we should find a solution that still allows for multiple buttons, preferably wrapped inside only one div per button set.

Steven didn't like it == zero chance for commit.

Is this still an issue in cvs with the new forms?

http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fdrupal.org only comes up with the well-known wbr non-issue.