[Bug 5777] New: referencing subordinate text or asides should be through an alternate attribute

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=5777

           Summary: referencing subordinate text or asides should be through
                    an alternate attribute
           Product: HTML WG
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: All
               URL: http://esw.w3.org/topic/HTML/Subtext
        OS/Version: All
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: Spec bugs
        AssignedTo: dave.null@w3.org
        ReportedBy: rob@robburns.com
         QAContact: public-html-bugzilla@w3.org
                CC: ian@hixie.ch, mike@w3.org, public-html@w3.org


The HTML5 draft adds ASIDE and recommends it for the handling of subordinate
text like might be displayed as end notes or footnotes. For flexibility and
legacy handling it also recommends the use of href to link to such subordinate
text. However, referencing subordinate text is distinct from referencing hype
linked text and so should be handled through its own attribute. For legacy
compatibility, authors might have to include both an A@href and another URI
attribute (such as @subtext or @aside). However, even in HTML5 UAs authors will
want the flexibility to associate text with other document fragment subordinate
text that is not next to or inside the main text.

To understand how referencing subordinate text is different from hyperlinking
to related text, consider how authors may want to hyperlink to text even within
a segment of text that has a subordinate document fragment associated with it
(like a footnote or endnote). By only providing the existing href attribute, we
preclude authors from being able to adequately express their meaning.

One way to address this would be to add a new global attribute that takes a URI
(or possibly IDREF) value that references subordinate text elsewhere in the
document or in a separate document (for URI values).

(see http://esw.w3.org/topic/HTML/Subtext for related information)

[authoring issue, minimal additional implementation, attribute only solution]


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Received on Friday, 20 June 2008 13:06:18 UTC