- From: Laura Carlson <laura.lee.carlson@gmail.com>
- Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:51:30 -0500
- To: public-html@w3.org
Empty summary attributes are acceptable in WCAG 2.0 on layout tables, but not recommended (W3C WCAG 2.0 [1]): > F46: Failure of SC 1.3.1 due to using th elements, caption elements, > or non-empty summary attributes in layout tables > > The objective of this technique is to describe a failure that occurs > when a table used only for layout includes either th elements, a > summary attribute, or a caption element. This is a failure because it > uses structural (or semantic) markup only for presentation. The > intent of the HTML table element is to present data. > > Although not commonly used in a layout table, the following > structural markup would also be failures of Success Criterion 1.3.1 > if used in a layout table: > > * headers attributes > * scope attributes [LC-679] > > Assistive technologies use the structure of an HTML table to present > data to the user in a logical manner. The th element is used to mark > the column and row headers of the table. A screen reader uses the > information in th elements to speak the header information that > changes as the user navigates the table. The summary attribute on the > table element provides a textual description of the table that > describes its purpose and function. Assistive technologies make the > summary attribute information available to users. The caption element > is part of the table and identifies the table. > > Although WCAG 2 does not prohibit the use of layout tables, CSS-based > layouts are recommended in order to retain the defined semantic > meaning of the HTML table elements and to conform to the coding > practice of separating presentation from content. [LC-1407] When a > table is used for layout purposes the th element should not be used. > Since the table is not presenting data there is no need to mark any > cells as column or row headers. Likewise, there is no need for an > additional description of a table which is only used to layout > content. Do not include a summary attribute and do not use the > summary attribute to describe the table as, for instance, "layout > table". When spoken, this information does not provide value and will > only distract users navigating the content via a screen reader. Empty > summary attributes are acceptable on layout tables, but not > recommended. But I agree with Gregory, if any element should be deprecated as a visual construct and relegated to CSS it is table for layout purposes. fyi...WCAG Samurai bans tables for layout. [2] > Guideline 5. Create tables that transform gracefully > > * Do not use tables for layout. > * The use of summary, caption, and abbreviations for headers is > covered by Guideline 3. Use those elements and attributes if > necessitated by your content. [1] http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/#F46 [2] http://wcagsamurai.org/errata/errata.html Best Regards, Laura
Received on Monday, 18 June 2007 19:51:34 UTC