Re: Heading Element Order (h1 to h6)

Philip TAYLOR wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Lachlan Hunt wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>   The spec should probably require heading levels to be used in the 
>> correct order,
> 
> Perhaps.
> 
>  so that a lower level heading must be preceded by a
>> higher level heading.
> 
> That does not follow.  There is no reason
> at all why any author might not wish to
> use a sub-title before a title proper.
> In most printed books, for example,
> the half-title page precedes the
> title page proper.  Whilst these are
> not directly analogies, there is no
> doubt in my mind that <H2> ... </H2>
> <H1> ... </H1> can be justified where
> it meets the authors intentions and wishes.

The <header> element is designed to address that particular use case. From the spec:

"For the purposes of document summaries, outlines, and the like, header elements 
are equivalent to the highest ranked h1-h6 element descendant (the first such 
element if there are multiple elements with that rank).

Other heading elements indicate subheadings or subtitles.
"

Therefore, from the point of view of a requirement to have headings in order, it 
makes sense to regard <header>s as representing a single heading element equal 
to the highest rank child; i.e.

<heading>
<h2></h2>
<h1></h1>
</heading>
<h2></h2>

would be conforming. Note that without a <header> element surrounding the 
<h2>,<h1> pair it's difficult to work out what the author's intentions were 
(although obviously the UA requirements for constructing an outline have to 
cover this case).

-- 
"Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?"
  -- Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Received on Wednesday, 5 December 2007 10:46:19 UTC