[Bug 22465] New: [HTML]: Obsolete use of "border" attribute

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=22465

            Bug ID: 22465
           Summary: [HTML]: Obsolete use of "border" attribute
    Classification: Unclassified
           Product: HTML WG
           Version: unspecified
          Hardware: PC
                OS: All
            Status: NEW
          Severity: minor
          Priority: P2
         Component: HTML5 spec
          Assignee: dave.null@w3.org
          Reporter: master.skywalker.88@gmail.com
        QA Contact: public-html-bugzilla@w3.org
                CC: mike@w3.org, public-html-admin@w3.org,
                    public-html-wg-issue-tracking@w3.org

"The border attribute may be specified on a table element to explicitly
indicate that the table element is not being used for layout purposes. If
specified, the attribute's value must either be the empty string or the value
"1". The attribute is used by certain user agents as an indication that borders
should be drawn around cells of the table."

Although it is useful to provide ways to recognize layout tables and proper
tables in older documents, written following a presentational (i.e.
non-semantic) markup, the proposed use of such attribute in both CR HTML5 and
WD HTML5.1 is questionable:

 1. it is no longer considered correct to make such a use of tables and modern
standard should discourage this bad practice, not provide new ways of carrying
it on;

 2. the attribute is not used in a semantic way - were it admitted that real
life layout tables can still occur, a "border" attribute does not convey this
state more than a < class="layout"> would do. It should be rather advised to
make use of ARIA attribute < role> for this.

 3. it is a bad use of a presentational habit - that of designing layouts with
no-border tables, while data tables almost always have. This assumption is
generic and incorrect. < border=""> says nothing, in real life, about layout
tables because they could still have borders. On the other hand, borders on
tables are shown by default on most browsers, assuming a correct use. So the
specification is useless even in its positive state.

 4. it is not backward-compatible. The proposed values of course don't cover
all real scenarios. < border=""> is often replaced by < border="0"> and
positive values can be more than 1. So in this syntax it does not save the
previus use cases from being labelled incorrect, at least in a html4->5
transition.

 5. HTML5 WHATWG specification has labelled the < border> attribute as obsolete
and incorrect since its beginning, as it has done on most presetational
attributes.

Consider removing it at least in the current working draft. Users are used to
see more than a < border="1"> and standards claim better scenarios.

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Received on Tuesday, 25 June 2013 20:06:54 UTC