Re: CDR: Appendix B lacks testable conformance criteria for user agents

Maciej Stachowiak <mjs@apple.com> wrote on 03/08/2006 05:51:51 PM:
> On Mar 8, 2006, at 7:49 AM, Steve K Speicher wrote:
> > Maciej Stachowiak <mjs@apple.com> wrote on 01/02/2006 05:07:07 AM:
> >> - The body of the spec says DOM Level 3 Core subsets are allowed, but
> >> this calls specifically for L3Core. What is the intent? It sould be
> >> made clear in all places. Also, it may be more clear to just say
> >> "must implement DOM Level 3 Core", since it adds nothing to say
> >> "interfaces". Also, if a subset (any subset) is allowed, then this
> >> criterion means nothing and is not testable.
> >
> > How about this rewording:
> > "A conformant user agent must implement DOM Level 3 Core, either 
> > full or a
> > profiled subset."
> 
> I think it would have to define what counts as a profiled subset. May 
> anyone define the profile? 
Sure
> Does it have to be defined by a W3C spec? 
No doesn't have to be, as you see we reference ECMA standards from our 
WICD profiles.
> Does DOM Level 2 Core count as a profiled subset of DOM Level 3 Core? 
Can DOM Level 2 Core applications run in a DOM Level 3 Core UA, then yes.
> Does SVG uDOM (the core-related part) count?
If criteria above applies, then yes.
> I think this criterion  is still not testable as written.

A profiled subset, is a reduced set of capabilities from the original 
specification.  Meaning, that the subset doesn't add any new features, 
only strips them out.  Content that conforms to the profiled subset must 
successfully be processed/rendered by a compliant UA of the full/superset 
specification, in other words the full UA doesn't need to know its subset 
content.

So conformance statements, in addition to the above, could be:

UA Conformance:
  "A conformant user agent of a superset profile specification must 
process subset profile content as if it is the superset profile content."
Profile Conformance:
  "A conformant subset profile must not add new features from their 
corresponding superset specification."
  "A conformant profile must define any dependent subset profiles."

> >> "Conformant user agent must implement DOM Level 3 Event interfaces."
> >>
> >> - same comments as above
> >>
> > Likewise:
> > "A conformant user agent must implement DOM Level 3 Events, either 
> > full or
> > a profiled subset."
> Same comments as above.

Same response as above.

> I am satisfied with the specific resolutions for these comments, but 
> I think Appendix B is still problematic. It sounds like the only 
> conformance requirements will be requirements to implement other 
> specs (L3 Core, L3 Events, Window). Maybe that's ok to publish, but 
> it doesn't sound all that useful to have a spec that is just a 
> laundry list of other specs.

When we started our specification, it contained a bit more content. Though 
as you can see with parent-to-child DOM access, these have been moved to 
other (more appropriate) places.  Therefore, having a list of dependent 
specifications is valuable in building a consistent set of profiles upon a 
common framework.  Having a small specification is not a bad thing.

Please let us know within two weeks if this response doesn't satisfy your 
comment.

Regards,
Steve Speicher on behalf of the CDF WG

Received on Monday, 13 March 2006 14:54:42 UTC