Fwd: [CSS21] no definition of when inlines split due to bidi reordering

FYI
-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  [CSS21] no definition of when inlines split due to bidi 
reordering
Resent-Date:  Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:27:01 +0000
Resent-From:  www-style@w3.org
Date:  Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:25:25 -0800
From:  L. David Baron <dbaron@dbaron.org>
To:  www-style@w3.org



In section 10.1, the definition of containing block says:
   # 4. If the element has 'position: absolute', the containing block
   #    is established by the nearest ancestor with a 'position' of
   #    'absolute', 'relative' or 'fixed', in the following way:
   #
   #    1. In the case that the ancestor is an inline box, the
   #       containing block depends on the 'direction' property of
   #       the ancestor:
   #
   #       1. If the 'direction' is 'ltr', the top and left of the
   #          containing block are the top and left padding edges of
   #          the first box generated by the ancestor, and the bottom
   #          and right are the bottom and right padding edges of the
   #          last box of the ancestor.
   #
   #       2. If the 'direction' is 'rtl', the top and right are the
   #          top and right padding edges of the first box generated
   #          by the ancestor, and the bottom and left are the bottom
   #          and left padding edges of the last box of the ancestor.
   --http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/visudet.html#containing-block-details

And in section 9.4.2, it says:
   # Inline boxes may also be split into several boxes within the
   # same line box due to bidirectional text processing.
   --http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/visuren.html#inline-formatting

First, this should probably say "might" rather than "may".

Second, nothing that I can see defines when and how this splitting
occurs.  (Section 8.6 refers to this splitting but does not define
it.)

The fact that when this splitting occurs is not defined means that
what the "first" and "last" boxes referred to in 10.1 are not
precisely defined when bidi is involved.

-David

-- 
L. David Baron                                 http://dbaron.org/
Mozilla Corporation                       http://www.mozilla.com/