Query on event-handlers

Hello

I'm a new(ish) web designer trying to get to grips with web
interoperability. As a learning exercise, I want my own website to
achieve Conformance Level Triple-A.

My current headache is around understanding guideline 6.4 - For scripts
and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent.

Currently, I'm coding links like this:

<a href="sitemap.htm" title="site map"
	onmouseover="window.status='site map'; return true;"
	onfocus="window.status='site map'; return true;"
	onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;"
	onblur="window.status=''; return true;">site map</a>

This provides what I feel is a helpful comment in the status bar rather
than the directory path to the file.

Testing my code with Site Valet
(http://valet.webthing.com/access/url.html), I get a message telling me
to ensure that scripting events are device-independent. I know that the
onfocus/onblur combination is device-independent but I'm guessing that
the onmouseover/onmouseout combination is not (having 'mouse' in the
name was a clue...).

As an aside, I've noticed that the onfocus/onblur combination appears to
work in IE6 but not in Firefox whereas the onmouseover/onmouseout
combination works in both.

What I can't work out from the guidelines is whether my code as shown
above is Triple-A compliant or not. My feeling is that it should be
since with it users whose browsing technology doesn't understand it will
discard it whilst without it, those whose browsing technology does
understand it will be missing out on a potentially useful feature.

I do appreciate that this is quite a minor point but I am trying not to
rely on automated tools and want to develop my understanding in order to
be able to apply commonsense when undertaking manual checks.

Your views would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance for your comments.

Kind regards - Stuart Auton.


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Received on Tuesday, 12 July 2005 11:12:38 UTC