Re: CSS selectors and xml:id

On Monday, May 9, 2005, 2:46:08 PM, Ian wrote:

IH> On Mon, 9 May 2005, Chris Lilley wrote:
>>
>> Not really. CSS can
>> 
>> a) require xml:id support
>> b) requires that if CSS is supported AND xml:id is supported THEN xml:id
>> be treated as ID for the purpose of selectors
>> c) forbid xml:id support
>> d) leave it wooly and ambiguous

IH> Options a and c are out of scope of CSS.

No, they aren't. They are possibilities. I would not recommend c, and
don't think a is suitable for CSS2.1, but listed them for completenes.


IH> Option b sounds reasonable

I thought so.

IH> but in reality is the tip of the iceberg, as then we would also have
IH> to list the bazillion other ways of having IDs, and would have to
IH> track each and every other way of defining IDs.

Not so, as Henry already commented.

IH> Option d is obviously bad.

Yes. Good, I don't have to ask for my sheep back.


IH> There is also an option e, and that is the option that the working
IH> group is following. That is, CSS requires that the ID selector match
IH> an element that has the given ID. It then leaves the other specs to
IH> define what IDs an element has. It is up to xml:id to say that it
IH> gives an element an ID.

That option would result in no xml:id tests in the test suite, I assume?
So, it would not really help in establishing an interoperable ID
mechanism that works even without DTDs.

IH> It is then up to the xml:id specification, or some other
IH> specification, to state that xml:id attributes are of type ID.

IH> Unfortunately, the xml:id specification explicitly doesn't say this.

Huh??

http://www.w3.org/TR/2005/CR-xml-id-20050208/#dt-id-assignment

[Definition: The process of ID type assignment causes an xml:id
attribute value to be an ID.]

You know, that seems pretty clear to me.

IH> But that is a problem with the xml:id spec (which I raised at last
IH> call), not a problem with the CSS spec.





-- 
 Chris Lilley                    mailto:chris@w3.org
 Chair, W3C SVG Working Group
 W3C Graphics Activity Lead

Received on Monday, 9 May 2005 12:58:23 UTC