Design Principles updated

* I promoted "Separation of Concerns" out of the disputed section,  
because I think the new form is no longer disputed. Holler if you  
still dispute the below text:

SeparationOfConcerns: HTML should allow separation of content and  
presentation. For this reason, markup that expresses semantics is  
usually preferred to purely presentational markup. However, semantic  
markup is a means to an end such as MediaIndependence. Profound and  
detailed semantic encoding is not necessary if the end can be reached  
otherwise. For example by defining reasonable default presentation  
for different media may be sufficient, as for the <b> and <i>  
elements. HTML Strikes a balance between semantic expressiveness and  
practical usefulness. Names of elements and attributes in the markup  
may be pragmatic (for brevity, history, simplicity) rather than  
completely accurate.

* I also expanded the "Support Extensions" principle, but left it in  
the Disputed section. I'm not sure how much we want this in the  
design principles. It seems like a fine requirement, but I am not  
sure it works as an overarching principle like security. I'm also not  
totally clear on what use cases people have in mind when they ask for  
this. So I am inclined to drop it.

* The Metadata and Versioning principles are still in the disputed  
section because, so far as I know, they are still hotly disputed.

Regards,
Maciej

Received on Thursday, 12 April 2007 06:02:11 UTC