Re: Numbers and units (was Re: [whatwg] Feeedback on <dfn>, <abbr>, and other elements related to cross-references)

Ben Boyle writes:

> I want a space between numbers and units in many cases, e.g. "5 in" or
> "24 hours". A minor but regular nuisance with this is the wrapping of
> text... it's not good practice to have a line break between the number
> and associated units.

Indeed.  When you want a space that doesn't break, a non-breaking space
character would seem ideal.   It's &nbsp; or U+A0.

> The solution for now is wrapping an element in a tag and defining
> 'nowrap' in the css.

That's worse than a non-breaking space, because it requires CSS be
enabled.

> (One solution I'd contend is that unit abbreviations are commonly
> defined - in dictionaries, or as SI units - thus we don't need to keep
> redefining them as abbreviations in webpages.)

Sounds good to me.

Smylers

Received on Wednesday, 23 April 2008 12:38:04 UTC