conformance proposal

all of this can be found in HTML at www.tsbvi.edu/conformance-proposal.htm
Random thoughts

Most SC are at the browser level at desktop, and platform level on mobile
device. Browsers have limited functionality
Have a lot of sc that are desktop specific. Should we highlight these, or
highlight the ones we think pertain to mobile.
Conformance claimcould be paper, or a video showing how things worked. this
would be good for extensions.

the information below is from our Implementation document, Jan's stuff on
Partial conformance, Greg's stuff on conformance, conversations with Kelly
and Jeanne, and meeting minutes. I have made some sausage, in that bits and
pieces have been used from all of the above, rearranged, and slight
rewordings. Please comment on-line.

Definition of User Agent

A user agent is any software that retrieves, renders and facilitates
end-user interaction with Web content.

What qualifies as a User Agent?

These guidelines employ the following tests to determine if software
qualifies as a user agent. UAAG 2.0 divides potential user agents into

platform-based application

extension or plug-in

web-based application



Platform-based User Agent

If the following three conditions are met, then it is a platform-based
application:

It is a standalone application, and

It interprets any W3C-specified language, and

It provides a user interface or interprets a procedural or declarative
language that may be used to provide a user interface



This includes desktops, and mobile devices.

Full UAAG 2.0 Conformance

A user agent conforms to UAAG20 at A, AA or AAA level when it meets the all
of the SCs appropriate for the claimed level of conformance. The UA may
meet the appropriate SCs wholly on its own or must list extensions
necessary to meet specified SCs that the UA cannot meet alone.

Partial UAAG 2.0 Conformance –

This conformance option may be selected when a user agent is unable to meet
one or more success criteria because of intrinsic limitations of the
platform. The SC marked with Not Applicable (NA) conformance should explain
what platform features are missing.

User-Agent A conforms to the following Success Criteria:

all met SC are listed.



The following SC are listed as NA using the codes below:

all NA SC are listed



NA:* Not Applicable Codes: (Level A, AA, or AAA)

*NA-Input:* not applicable due to a constrained input set (e.g. an
application that reads flight data in XML format from a corporate server,
or a help system that only displays HTML files included with the product)

*NA-Platform:* not applicable due constraints of the platform (e.g. color
handling when the browser is run on a monochrome device, audio handling on
a silent device, video handling on a interactive voice response browser, or
interprocess communication on an operating system that does not support
multitasking). The conformance should explain what platform features are
missing.

*NA-Output:* not applicable due to intentionally limited output modalities
(e.g. video handling in a browser that only does audio output even though
the platform might support video)



The following SC are listed as Not Compliant using the following scheme:

All Non-compliant SC are listed



NC:* Not Compliant codes: (Level A, AA, or AAA)

*NC-Potential:* not compliant but in theory a third party could make it
compliant using documented and supported techniques (e.g. the product's
extension architecture readily allows adding the required feature; this is
also allowed if the source is made available and the claimant believes it
could be modified to add compliance with less than one person-week of
effort, thus giving incentive for open source

*NC-Unsupported:* may be compliant but not using documented and supported
techniques

*NC-Impossible:* not compliant even with undocumented and unsupported
techniques



Extension or Plug-in

If the following two conditions are met then it is an extension or plug-in:

It is launched by, or extends the functionality of a platform-based
application, and

Post-launch user interaction is included in, or is within the bounds of the
platform-based application



This includes most extensions and plugins (e.g. media players). It excludes
AT, as they are standalone applications separate from the browser (rule 2
above). It excludes web-based application plugins (see the definition
below).

UAAG 2.0 Conformance for Extension (Level A, AA, or AAA):

This option may be used for extension or plug-in with very limited
functionality. Conformance for an extension or plugin can be claimed for
specific SCs and the SCs related to preference settings, toolbar settings,
documentation, and programmatic access.

The conformance claim must list all browsers and versions with which the
extension operates.

The level of conformance (A, AA, or AAA) is determined as above except
that: (1) for any "no" answers, the extension (plug-in, etc.) must not
prevent the success criteria from being met by another user agent extension
as part of a complete user agent system and (2) the user agent extension
(plug-in, etc.) must meet any requirements applying to all functionality
(e.g. to be resizable, to provide documentation, etc.).

Note: User agent Extensions would not be able to meet conformance if they
prevent additional user agent components from meeting the failed success
criteria (e.g., for security reasons).

NA-Component: not applicable to the limited functionality provided by this
user agent component, plug-in, or extension (e.g. SC relating to rendering
content would not apply to a browser extension that adds additional menu
commands but does not itself render any content)

Example:

A "mouseless browsing" extension allows the following listed browsers (UA1,
UA2) to meet UAAG success criterion 2.3.3 ("Direct activation of Enabled
Elements: The user can move directly to and activate any enabled element in
rendered content."). Additionally we meet these SCs related to user
interface components (Guideline 2.1 2.3.4, 2.7.1, 2.7.1, 2.8.1, 3.3.1,
3.3.2). All other SC are rated NA-Extension.

Web-based User Agent

If the following three conditions are met then it is an web-based
application:

The user interface is generated by a procedural or declarative language; and

The user interface is embedded in an application that renders web content,
and

User interaction is controlled by a procedural or declarative language, or
if user interaction does not modify the Document Object Model of its
containing document.



This is also known as a "webapp" Examples include Web-based text editors
(xStandard, ckEdit, etc.) canvas applications, web application (e.g
Docusign, c9.io - Cloud based IDE).

@@all of the conformance below is the same as for a Platform based UA.
Perhaps we put the definitions sequentionally. So Platform and Web-based
are followed by one conformance section, then Extension/plug-in follows
with its conformance.@@

Full UAAG 2.0 Conformance

A user agent conforms to UAAG20 at A, AA or AAA level when it meets the all
of the SCs appropriate for the claimed level of conformance. The UA may
meet the appropriate SCs wholly on its own or must list extensions
necessary to meet specified SCs that the UA cannot meet alone.

Partial UAAG 2.0 Conformance –

This conformance option may be selected when a user agent is unable to meet
one or more success criteria because of intrinsic limitations of the
platform. The SC marked with Not Applicable (NA) conformance should explain
what platform features are missing.

User-Agent A conforms to the following Success Criteria:

all met SC are listed.



The following SC are listed as NA using the codes below:

all NA SC are listed



NA:* Not Applicable Codes: (Level A, AA, or AAA)

*NA-Input:* not applicable due to a constrained input set (e.g. an
application that reads flight data in XML format from a corporate server,
or a help system that only displays HTML files included with the product)

*NA-Platform:* not applicable due constraints of the platform (e.g. color
handling when the browser is run on a monochrome device, audio handling on
a silent device, video handling on a interactive voice response browser, or
interprocess communication on an operating system that does not support
multitasking). The conformance should explain what platform features are
missing.

*NA-Output:* not applicable due to intentionally limited output modalities
(e.g. video handling in a browser that only does audio output even though
the platform might support video)



The following SC are listed as Not Compliant using the following scheme:

All Non-compliant SC are listed



NC:* Not Compliant codes: (Level A, AA, or AAA)

*NC-Potential:* not compliant but in theory a third party could make it
compliant using documented and supported techniques (e.g. the product's
extension architecture readily allows adding the required feature; this is
also allowed if the source is made available and the claimant believes it
could be modified to add compliance with less than one person-week of
effort, thus giving incentive for open source

*NC-Unsupported:* may be compliant but not using documented and supported
techniques

*NC-Impossible:* not compliant even with undocumented and unsupported
techniques



Example:

A mobile app for an airline might, in fact, be an HTML browser that only
displays specially-structured text-only HTML content (flight information)
from a known source. Because the content is very predictable, certain UAWG
requirements that would usually apply to an HTML browser (e.g. regarding
how to display image alternatives) would not apply. @@this needs to be
expanded a bit@@









-- 
Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator & Webmaster
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
voice 512.206.9315    fax: 512.206.9264  http://www.tsbvi.edu/
"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964