RE: XForms 1.1: Why is output/mediatype text content not allowed?

Every other place where we have an element like this with a value attribute, text content is also allowed.  And most of them have attribute versions as well, so it's not because there's a output/@mediatype that we don't specify the behavior of output/mediatype/text().
 
Here's a comparison table:
 
submission/method   "The method to be used by the submission can be specified with either the value attribute or the string content of the method element."
submission/header/name "The header entry name may be given by the string content of the name element, or by the result of the value attribute."
submission/header/value "The header entry value may be given by the string content of the value element, or by the result of the value attribute. "
dispatch/name "The name element can provide the event name with either its string content or the value attribute. "
dispatch/targetid "The targetid element can provide an IDREF for the event target with either its string content or the value attribute. "
dispatch/target (deprecated but allowed with same content as dispatch/targetid)
dispatch/delay "The delay element can provide the delay with either its string content or the value attribute. "
setfocus/control " The control element can provide the desired element identifier with either its string content or the value attribute. "
toggle/case "The case element can provide the identity of a case <http://www.w3.org/TR/xforms11/#ui-case>  with either its string content or the value attribute. "
(item|itemset)/value "3. the inline content of the value element (when neither the single node binding nor the value attribute are expressed)."
 
Only one is different:
output/mediatype   "If the binding attributes are not used, the value attribute must be used instead to specify the desired media type rendition."
 
We can use a pattern to express this in the schema (and in fact have to a first approximation of correctness) but for output/mediatype, it's incorrect because it's different from the others.
 
So I'd recommend that we make output/mediatype be the same as the others with regard to #PCDATA content and its processing.
 
Leigh.
BTW, the value attribute was added so it can use the mediatype specified in the instance, for example if you have a recently uploaded file from the upload control.

________________________________

From: John Boyer [mailto:boyerj@ca.ibm.com] 
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 9:18 AM
To: Klotz, Leigh
Cc: public-forms@w3.org; www-forms-editor@w3.org
Subject: Re: XForms 1.1: Why is output/mediatype text content not allowed?



It started as being the same mediatype element as is used with the upload element, and then the value attribute was added for some reason that I don't know/recall (so, I hope it wasn't me who asked for it). 

The upload mediatype element cannot use a value attribute because the element is only needed when the author wants to store in data the mediatype of the uploaded content.  I can't think of a technical reason not to remove the value attribute from output's mediatype element for consistency. Note that the output element has a mediatype attribute that would provide exactly the same encoding as would a mediatype element's text content (were it allowed by the schema), and it would be easier to use for encoding a static string than would the child element. 

John M. Boyer, Ph.D.
STSM, Interactive Documents and Web 2.0 Applications
Chair, W3C Forms Working Group
Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software
IBM Victoria Software Lab
E-Mail: boyerj@ca.ibm.com  

Blog: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/JohnBoyer <http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/JohnBoyer> 
Blog RSS feed: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/rss/JohnBoyer?flavor=rssdw <http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/rss/JohnBoyer?flavor=rssdw> 





From: 	"Klotz, Leigh" <Leigh.Klotz@XEROX.COM> 
To: 	<public-forms@w3.org>, <www-forms-editor@w3.org> 
Date: 	12/11/2009 09:03 AM 
Subject: 	XForms 1.1: Why is output/mediatype text content not allowed?

________________________________




 Here's the spec text for output/mediatype element: 

8.1.5.1 The mediatype Element (for output) 

Binding attributes on author-optional element mediatype specify the location in the instance of the string that indicates the desired media type rendition for the parent output. If the binding attributes are not used, the value attribute must be used instead to specify the desired media type rendition. 

Why does it not allow  text content? 

  <output ref="foo"><mediatype>image/*</mediatype></output> 

It's hard justify this restriction because it's different from other SNB elements with value, which  do  support  inline content.  Removing this restriction would allow for more re-use of types in the schemas, and better author familiarity with our rules.   

Leigh,