[Bug 10808] text with unknown direction gets corrupted when inserted in content with opposite direction

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=10808

--- Comment #37 from Aharon Lanin <aharon.lists.lanin@gmail.com> 2010-11-05 02:08:18 UTC ---
(In reply to comment #36)

> Ok, I will change the spec as follows:
>  - make dir="" be defined as setting a logical direction

When you say dir="" here and in the other items below, you don't actually mean
the empty value, right? You just mean something like "When a dir value is
specified"?

What do you mean by "logical" direction?

>  - change the style sheet to use :ltr / :rtl instead of selecting on [dir]
>  - add an "auto" value to "dir" that applies UAX #9 P2/P3 to the element's text
> (skipping <script>, <style>, and certain other elements).

1. The "certain other elements" include those that specify a dir value of their
own, whatever it may be, including "auto", right?

2. For dir="auto", unicode-bidi should get set to "plaintext" for textarea and
pre elements, and to "isolate" for everything else.

>  - make dir=""'s default value element-specific
>  - change <bdi> to default to "auto", the root <html> element to "ltr", and
> have all other elements inherit the "computed" direction.

It's probably best not to use the term "inherit". "<span
dir=rtl>...<span>...</span>...</span>" is very different from "<span
dir=rtl>...<span dir=rtl>...</span>...</span>". Perhaps the phrasing might be
'continue the "computed" direction'.

>  - add an example to the dir="" section of an IM conversation where dir="auto"
> would help (I'll need help with this since I don't speak any RTL languages).

Sure. Supply the basic gist, and I'll get you a translation.

It is also very important to tell people not to expect miracles from dir=auto.
When applied to an element containing text mixing LTR and RTL characters, its
results may not always be correct as judged by a human user. It should be used
primarily on elements tightly wrapping a potentially opposite-direction piece
of textual content, without admixtures of any kind. It will not "unmix" a
jumble of LTR and RTL content that has already been mixed together without
indicating the boundaries. 

>  - add :rtl/:ltr to the selector mapping section

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Received on Friday, 5 November 2010 02:08:22 UTC