- From: Yvette P. Hoitink <y.p.hoitink@heritas.nl>
- Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 19:36:37 +0200
- To: <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
Michael Cooper wrote: > > Regarding the suggestion to ban the use of layout tables outright: > > This is a difficult one for us working on techniques. We all > agree that layout tables are undesirable and we would like to > "ban" them. But the techniques aren't normative so we can't > actually forbid the use of any technology or technique that > leads to WCAG 2.0 compliant content. > [snip] Actually, at the moment we require in guideline 4.1, item 1b: [1] "structural elements and attributes are used as defined in the specification." In the HTML specification for tables, the introduction states: [2] "Tables should not be used purely as a means to layout document content as this may present problems when rendering to non-visual media. Additionally, when used with graphics, these tables may force users to scroll horizontally to view a table designed on a system with a larger display. To minimize these problems, authors should use style sheets to control layout rather than tables." So the current working draft of the WCAG 2 effectively already bans the use of layout tables, even if that isn't made explicit. This is because layout tables are an example of using a structural element in a way that is not conform the specification. Even though I do not have a solution, I think we really need to take a hard look at this because we cannot afford any conflicts between the techniques document and the WCAG 2 document. Yvette Hoitink Heritas, Enschede, the Netherlands E-mail: y.p.hoitink@heritas.nl WWW: http://www.heritas.nl [1] http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-WCAG20-20040311/#use-spec [2] http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#h-11.1
Received on Friday, 16 April 2004 13:35:53 UTC