Re: [css3-transforms] atomic inline-element?

Øyvind Stenhaug:
> On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:47:05 +0100, Dr. Olaf Hoffmann
>
> <Dr.O.Hoffmann@gmx.de> wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > the section
> > http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-css3-transforms-20120228/#definitions
> > notes an 'atomic inline-level element'. I think, neither the (X)HTML
> > recommendations HTML4.01, XHTML 1.0/1.1, XHTML+RDFa nor
> > the HTML5 draft does not contain such a construction.
>
> See the second paragraph here:
> http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/visuren.html#inline-boxes

This explains 'atomic boxes' (delicate construction as well by the way ;o),
not necessarily atomic elements ...
For example an element decorated with 'display: inline-block' 
becomes/creates an atomic inline box, as far as I understand this 
section.

>
> (The meaning of "atomic" in this context is "of or forming a single
> irreducible unit or component in a larger system", as
> oxforddictionaries.com puts it; this alludes to the fact that thb box of
> an "atomic" inline-level element cannot be further split up across
> multiple lines)

Interesting, in another online translation tool I found only
the meaning related to atoms ...
But maybe only some other languages are more careful about
what can be 'irreducible', therefore it is not translatable into such
languages ;o)

Concerning (X)HTML and 'atomic elements' it is still not clear.
As we can learn from real atoms, what it means to be 'a single
irreducible unit or component in a larger system' depends on the
point of view or the abstraction level or level of knowlegde 
- in chemistry atoms are maybe more a less such a unit, 
in atomic physics not, in particle physics not even the
nucleus is or the protons and neutrons and so on 
- quarks, strings? Who knows ...

Related to (X)HTML:
Is <br /> atomic, because it is in general an empty element without 
attributes? (But it can have attributes, is it sufficient, if the author
does not provide any?)
<span></span> because it is empty without attributes?

The follwoing has obviously a substructure like attribute and content,
therefore not atomic, because it can be reduced to a substructure?
<span title="ex">ample</span>  

This one?
<span title="sample"><em>ex</em>ample</span>  

And atomic inline-element - is the 'inline' related to the
CSS-decoration of the element or to some intrinsic knowledge
of the meaning of the element, resulting from the definition
of the element, here in (X)HTML?

Olaf

Received on Friday, 9 March 2012 16:21:26 UTC