ACTION-1490 Updated combobox branch based on Feb 4 ARIA caucus discussion

Based on today's lively discussion, I have revised my proposal for action
1490[1], which  is in branch mck-action1490[2].

 

The revisions include:

1. Remove implicit value of aria-orientation for combobox.

2. Remove combobox note about XForms.

3. Change combobox aria-autocomplete authoring requirements to state that
aria-autocomplete be set to either "both" if autocomplete is provided in the
textbox or "list" if it is not.

4. Restored token values for aria-autocomplete and clarified their
definitions.

 

As previously described, the objectives of action 1490 are:

1. Allow combobox to popup grid, tree, and dialog in addition to listbox.

2. Allow aria-controls instead of aria-owns so the pop-up is not a child of
the single line text input. This enables screen readers to include a
rendering of the pop-up outside of the text input in their reading view or
buffer.

3. Remove ambiguities from the spec to improve understanding and simplify
authoring.

4. Do it all without breaking any existing implementations.

 

Note: the changes included in action 1490 have little or no effect on
browser implementations and require only minor adjustments in the logic of
some screen readers to support the aria-controls relationship when
processing the escape key.

 

The changes in the mck-action1490 branch (as compared to master) are:

1. Reworded the combobox definition.

2. Added normative statement saying the popup must be one of listbox, tree,
grid, or dialog.

3. Added normative MUST statement requiring authors to associate the input
with the pop-up.

4. Specified that authors SHOULD use aria-controls but MAY use aria-owns to
specify the relationship between the input and the popup.

5. Added normative author MUST statement requiring correct use of
aria-expanded.

6. Reworded and simplify the focus management language.

7. Eliminated confusing language about aria-autocomplete and specified that
authors SHOULD use either "both" if the text input provides suggestions or
"list" if it does not.

8. Updated the example code to match the new authoring requirements.

9. Added a reference to the APG.

10. Changed the superclass to input.

11. Remove the required owned elements.

12. Clarified the value definitions for aria-autocomplete.

 

[1] Action 1490: https://www.w3.org/WAI/aria/track/actions/1490

 

[2] mck-action1490 branch:
http://rawgit.com/w3c/aria/mck-action1490/aria/aria.html