- From: Leif Halvard Silli <xn--mlform-iua@xn--mlform-iua.no>
- Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 20:14:22 +0100
- To: "Tab Atkins Jr." <jackalmage@gmail.com>
- Cc: Shelley Powers <shelley.just@gmail.com>, Jeroen van der Gun <noreplytopreventspam@blijbol.nl>, public-html <public-html@w3.org>
Tab Atkins Jr., Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:02:46 -0600: > On Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 11:46 AM, Shelley Powers wrote: >> And I can probably bring in another couple hundred references in >> addition to the above and Laura's, all describing tables and figures >> as two different things. AND, where it makes sense to the field, >> examples and equations are listed as a third item. > > As I said in regards to Laura's list, this is not the correct > conclusion to draw. When looking at the full context, it seems clear > that the discrimination between "figures" and "tables" is in name > only. They are recommending not *labeling* tables as figures. > However, in actual usage, tables and figures are very often presented > identically. So then we should focus more on the labeling problem than on the structure. > Thus those injunctions should be taken, at most, as guidelines for > what to use in the caption of the <figure> element. The stylistic > nature of the tables and figures indicates that they would be best > served by a single element. I bet that if there existed a common caption element that could be used with all relevant elements, then we would not be having this discussion. The problem is that <figure>, the way it is defined in the HTML 5 draft, is *more* than the structure: it must also be possible to refer to it outside of the context. Jeroen mentioned <figurestructure> as a possible alternative - but too long (he said) - name of this element. I would say that <structure> would be a better name. Then it could also be used for stuff that isn't possible to remove from "without affecting the flow of the document". PS: <figure> appears in HTML 5 under section 4.8 "Embedded content". -- leif halvard silli
Received on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 19:15:02 UTC