RE: [css3-page] LCWD issue 14 -- [14] Section 3.2

> [Original Message]
> From: BIGELOW,JIM (HP-Boise,ex1) <jim.bigelow@hp.com>
> To: <ernestcline@mindspring.com>
> Cc: <www-style@w3.org>
> Date: 2/8/2004 2:43:04 PM
> Subject: RE: [css3-page] LCWD issue 14 --  [14] Section 3.2
>
> Your issue, shown below, has been accepted by the editor.  If you have any
> further comment on this topic, you have 7 days, until 15 February 2004, to
> respond.
>
> > 
> > This section and the accompanying terminology assumes that the 
> > standard Western practice of binding so that the spine is to the left 
> > is the only standard.  This is NOT the case. Standard Japanese 
> > practice is to bind printed matter so that the spine is to the right. 
> > Given the unfortunate choice of :left and :right in CSS 2, I don't 
> > have any expectation of changing the pseudo-classes, but the 
> > explanatory material should be rewritten so as to be supportive of 
> > Japanese binding.
> > 
>
> You issue while true is vague as to how it should be accomplished.  The
> new text of this section is included below for your review.  Any help you
> can offer to improve it would be welcomed.

Well, I didn't want to usurp your prerogatives, but here goes my version
of Section 3.2  I did take the liberty of using the term pseudo-page
in hopes that term is accepted.  If it isn't it should be simple enough to
revert back to pseudo-class.

Features of my draft:
1) Removed an ambiguity over whether a square page is portrait
or landscape by explicitly saying it doesn't matter.
2) Introduced a separate definition of Duplex Printing because it
seemed to make what I wanted to say clearer.
3) Dropped all discussion of page numbering, largely because
there is no guarantee that the page number of the nth page
would be n, making discussion of page numbers irrelevant to
the concepts described here.
4) Added a definition of Major Writing Direction with the intent of tying
it to the value of the 'direction' property of the root element. I was
uncertain
whether to use MAY or MUST in the definition and it may well be that
I overdid my attempt at tying down its value.

3.2. Page types

Pages and their corresponding page layouts have many possible formats.
Among the aspects of page layout that can vary are paper size, orientation
of the layout with respect to the paper, order of the pages, how the
document will be printed, and how the document will be bound. Some of
these depend upon factors such as the major writing direction
and the media type that are not be specified by this module. The
following terminology is used to describe pages and page treatments: 

Page Orientation
The page orientation is defined by comparing the length of the edges
of a page box. The page box is a rectangle with two perpendicular
edges called the long edge and the short edge.  The length of the long
edge is always greater than or equal to the length of the short edge.
 When the page box is square, the two edges are of the same length
and either can be used as the long edge with the other being  the short
edge.

Portrait Orientation
A portrait page's height is greater than or equal to its width.
Horizontal elements are parallel to the short edge and vertical
elements to the long edge.
 
Landscape Orientation 
A landscape page's width is greater than or equal to its height.
Horizontal elements are parallel to the long edge and vertical
elements to the short edge. 

Front Side 
Media used as a stack of sheets have two sides known as the front
and the back. Typically, the user agent prints on the front side of the
media when using only one side of the page sheet.  Media used
from a roll or continuous form will print only on the front side. CSS
does not provide a mechanism to deal directly with the front and
back sides, rather page layouts must be designed in terms of left
and right pages. 

Back Side
The back side of a sheet medium is the side that cannot be seen
when looking at the front side. Typically, the back side is only
used when printing on both sides of the medium.  Unless using
special paper stock such as letterhead it does not usually matter
which side is the front and which is the back.

Duplex Printing
Duplex printing uses one page box per side of a page sheet and
uses both sides of the page sheet.  This module provides no ability
to specify whether a document is duplex printed, but the concept
of left and right pages is based on the assumption that the
document is duplex printed, regardless of whether it actually is.

Binding Edge
The binding edge is the edge of the page box that is towards the
binding if the material is bound.  The binding edge often has a larger
margin than the opposite edge to provide for the space used by the
binding.  The binding edge can be any of the four edges.  However,
page sheets are customarily bound so that the binding edge of page
boxes with portrait orientation is vertical.  This module provides no
method to specify the binding edge.  In duplex printing, the binding
edge is on opposite sides of the page box for the left and right pages.

Facing Pages
Facing pages are two sequential pages such that when the document
is duplex printed they are on separate sheets of paper. Typically, the
earlier page will be the back side of one sheet and the later page will
be the front side of another. They are usually laid out so that the
binding edges of facing pages are vertical and adjacent when the
pages are placed in their normal reading orientation.  It is up to the UA
to determine whether the left page or the right page of a pair of facing
pages is the earlier one of the sequence.  How the UA makes this
determination is implementation dependent but often depends upon
the predominant writing direction of the document.

Major Writing Direction
The major writing direction for the document is determined by the UA.
If the UA supports the 'direction' property from CSS2 or the CSS 3
Text Module it (MAY/MUST) determine it using the value of that
property on the root element.

Left Page
A page that will be on the left if it is part of a pair of facing
pages as typically laid out. Page layouts for documents
using a left-to-right major writing direction have the earlier
of the facing pages on the left.  Rules for the left page can
be specified using the :left pseudo-page selector.

Right Page
A page that will be on the right if it is part of a pair of facing
pages as typically laid out. Page layouts for documents
using a right-to-left writing major direction have the earlier
of the facing pages on the right.  Rules for the right page can
be specified using the :right pseudo-page selector.

First Page
The first page in a set of pages.  The UA determines which page is
the first page.  The first page is generally printed on the front side
of a medium.  Rules for the first page can be specified using the
:first pseudo-page selector.  A first page can be either a left page
or a right page but a UA MUST apply any rules defined for a first
page in preference to those defined on a left page or a right page.

Received on Tuesday, 10 February 2004 00:00:50 UTC