html - What's the valid way to include an image with no src?

Question

I have an image that I will dynamically populate with a src later with javascript but for ease I want the image tag to exist at pageload but just not display anything. I know <img src='' /> is invalid so what's the best way to do this?

Answer 1

Another option is to embed a blank image. Any image that suits your purpose will do, but the following example encodes a GIF that is only 26 bytes - from http://probablyprogramming.com/2009/03/15/the-tiniest-gif-ever

<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=" width="0" height="0" alt="" />

Edit based on comment below:

Of course, you must consider your browser support requirements. No support for IE7 or less is notable. http://caniuse.com/datauri