Re: Inline Lists

Hey Ryan,

I'd like to jump in on this as well.  This is a problem not just with  
lists, but that is a good example.

The HTML5 spec has a semi-solution, in that it is suggested that when  
you omit the p tags, there are in effect 'implicit paragraphs'.  Check  
out the last example of this section, http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/dom.html#paragraph 
, (the one about 'My Cats').   While that example is a clever way of  
thinking of the data, ultimately I don't think this is a workable  
solution, because it is impossible to know for sure that the text on  
either side of the block element is actually related.

Let's for a second assume  the HTML5 spec were to make a change here.   
If that were to happen, the CSS 'display' value 'inline-block' could  
offer inspiration for terminology, and behavior, for this situation.   
Perhaps something like, 'if a block element occurs within phrasing  
content, it would cause content model to reset to flow content  
underneath that block element'.

Regards,
Seth





On Jul 26, 2009, at 2:39 PM, Ryan Roberts wrote:

> I came across a problem recently while trying to markup a list  
> within a paragraph. Here's an example:
>
> - Today I went to the local store and bought; cheese, bread, milk,  
> eggs and a tin of spam. When I got home I found the eggs were rotten  
> and the bread was green!
>
> Here we have an inline list within a paragraph, something I would  
> guess to be quite common.
>
> It would not be appropriate to break out into a block level list  
> surrounded by two separate paragraphs. Using CSS is also out of the  
> question because I would then have to embed the list element within  
> the paragraph. I suppose I could use the b element to set the list  
> text off from the surrounding text but this doesn't convey the  
> correct semantic information.
>
> Has a solution for this ever been considered in HTML?  If it has  
> been considered is there anything I can read covering why it wasn't  
> accepted?
>
> Thanks,
> Ryan
>
>
> Web Designer & Developer
> hello@ryanroberts.co.uk
> 07759917964
>
>
>
>
>

Received on Monday, 27 July 2009 00:53:02 UTC