UAAG Guideline 6 comments

Here's my initial comments and suggested updates for some of the UAAG
Guideline 6 checkpoints: http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/wiki/UseApis#preview

6.1 Programmatic access to HTML/XML infoset (P1)
*.CL: The requirement to provide read/write access should exist at least
in-process - unless we want to ensure read/write access by both in-process
and out-of-process APIs, especially since a screen reader is usually
out-of-process. But then there are security issues to address for
out-of-process.

*CL: Add a definition of "programmatic access" and "programmatic read
access" based on the WCAG definition of "programmatically determined", such
as "exposed to an assistive technology through an accessibility API that is
supported by commonly available assistive technology."

*CL: The ARIA specs state a requirement about mapping roles, states, and
properties to an adaptive interface or accessibility API for an operating
system. This requirement could be more explicit in these guidelines for
both ARIA markup as well as HTML 4.01 elements and attributes. Ask PF to
define "adaptive interface." Define "accessibility API" as a programming
interface for an application to provide, and an assistive technology to
obtain, information about documents, applications, objects (aka elements)
and attributes, characters, and events.

6.4 Programmatic access to information about rendered content (P1)
under #3
*CL: Should be provision three of checkpoint 6.3.
*CL: We should consider combining 6.1 - 6.4. The techniques sections
describe why there are separate guidelines - separating what info from how
to provide, and HTML vs DOM vs non-HTML vs graphical content. But there is
a lot of duplication. Need to decide if UAAG should require both DOM and
accessibility APIs, especially in light of the fact that ATs don't want to
get ARIA info out of the DOM.

6.5 Programmatic operation of user agent user interface (P1) #3 and
6.6 Programmatic notification of changes (P1) #2
*CL: Should be provision three of checkpoint 6.3.

6.7 Conventional keyboard APIs (P1)
*.ckl: 2. Establish and document how the user agent resolves key binding
conflicts between the user agent user interface, user agent extensions (e.g
plug-ins), HTML elements (i.e. accesskeys), and JavaScript functions (i.e.
keypress events). If a keystroke is not defined by the user agent user
interface,the user agent should pass it on to the user agent extensions,
HTML elements, then JavaScript functions, in that order. Not sure we should
be this prescriptive - just throwing it out there for discussion.

Cathy Laws

IBM Research  Human Ability & Accessibility Center
11501 Burnet Road,  Bldg 904 Office 5D016, Austin, Texas 78758
Phone: (512) 838-4595  FAX: (512) 246-8502
E-mail: claws@us.ibm.com, Web: http://www.ibm.com/able

Throwing starfish into the ocean...you can't possibly make a difference...
pick up yet another starfish and throw it into the ocean...it makes a
difference to that one! Loren Eiseley