The Highlight API and Document Services

Editing Task Force,

Hello. I would like to send a quick note about a new project which appears to depend on the Highlight API and its upcoming events system (https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/blob/main/highlight/events-explainer.md). Also interesting is the CSS Custom Highlight API Module (https://www.w3.org/TR/css-highlight-api-1/).

The new project is described in the following evolving documents:
https://www.w3.org/community/argumentation/wiki/Document_Services
https://github.com/WICG/proposals/issues/19

(Please do feel free to let me know if you have any questions or comments about document services or any ideas about how I can improve the evolving documents, aforementioned.)

The gist is to develop and standardize an architecture for document services, remote or client-local services on documents, document elements, or ranges of content. Examples of document services include: spellchecking, grammar checking, proofreading, fact checking, reasoning checking, and argumentation checking. Imagine being able to check, in real-time, if a document has any informational, warning, or error messages with respect to its factuality or any steps of its reasoning. Tools for authoring and reviewing documents, in these regards, would be useful across sectors, across industry, academia, military, and government, with specific applicability to journalism, encyclopedias, digital textbooks, and science.

Three varieties of document services are, thus far, considered. Firstly, there are services which adhere to an informational message, warning, error pattern. Secondly, there are services which offer corrections, recommendations, or options for users. Thirdly, there are services which provide metadata about documents, document elements, or ranges of content (e.g. word count, reading level).

As envisioned, document services will provide end-users with features utilizing user interface elements including text decorations, highlighting, and context menus. Accordingly, I wanted to reach out and to express interest in the Highlight API and its upcoming events system.


Best regards,
Adam Sobieski

P.S.: We’re in the midst of launching a new W3C Community Group on the aforementioned topics, the Document Services Community Group  (https://www.w3.org/community/groups/proposed/#services). Please do feel free to support creation of the group. Thank you.