Re: minor ambiguity in DOM Level 2 CSS spec

David Flanagan wrote:
> 
> The DOM Level 2 CSS spec says this about the
> CSSStyleDeclaration.getPropertyPriority() method:
> 
>     Used to retrieve the priority of a CSS property (e.g. the "important"
>     qualifier) if the property has been explicitly set in this declaration
>     block.
> 
>     Return Value: A string representing the priority (e.g. "important") if
>     one exists. The empty string if none exists.
> 

> My reading of the return value section is that if the property is
> specified, but has no priority, this method returns the empty string.

right.

> It does not say what the return value is if the there is no explicit
> specification of the named property.

I would expect it to return empty string and use getPropertyValue to
check if a value was specified or not.

> This is troubling especially since
> the first sentence raises the question of whether the property is
> explicitly set or not.
> 
> By analogy with other methods of the same interface, I assume that the
> empty string is returned in this case as well, but it would also be
> sensible for the method to return null in the case that the named
> property doesn't exist at all.

What about this new wording?

Used to retrieve the priority of a CSS property (e.g. the "important"
qualifier) if the priority has been explicitly set in this declaration
block.

Return Value: A string representing the priority (e.g. "important") if
the priority has been explicitly set in this declaration block. The
empty string if not.


Philippe