JLReq and Gap Analyses

Colleagues –

Kida-san asked me to forward some thoughts to the list, that we were discussing on a private thread, in case it would be useful for all to consider...

In the last F2F meeting of the JLReq TF, the group was discussing the charter of making sure that the Gap Analysis is complete, and how to test the current implementations of JLReq requirements.

In reading through the JLReq once again with this in mind, I am struck not only by the wealth of information of print publishing as it has been done at the highest level on proprietary systems and in Desktop Publishing; but also how it clearly was written from the point of view of the expert in Japanese typography and layout.

It is the intent of the document to be a key source of truth for the implementer of text layout engines; but for those authors who are less familiar with Japanese, much more has to be explained for them truly to understand and prioritize the information in JLReq.

An example of what I mean: Several pages are devoted to the Kihon Hanmen, yet for the expert, I feel the Kihon Hanmen is so core to the management of space on the page, and the fact that it derives its dimensions from the em-bodies of body text so obvious, that its true context and importance is lost on the neophyte. It may appear to be a relic of print publishing, something only used for static paged material, something used only to speed up production and assure a staid consistency. What place has such a thing in the world of reflowable, dynamic documents? Perhaps it can be ignored altogether?

In my opinion the central role of the Kihon Hanmen is overlooked because it has not been explained properly from the context of how it advances the basic control of white space in the design, and that its interplay with the text on the design is so central to how the balance of white space and content in the design is achieved. Japanese text, being largely square and often monospaced, is grid-like in that it evokes two axes for the eye to latch upon in looking at and navigating a design. The establishment of a basic grid, that is essentially text-based, is not unique. However, the way other objects are placed on the design in relation to this text grid, and the use of the grid or grids to determine optimal placement, seems to me to be an under-served aspect of Japanese graphic design--especially when it comes to responsive layout and automatic reflow.

It is my hope that we revisit how the JLReq sets the context of its trove of information so that these "obvious to the authors" concepts are more fully fleshed out for the neophyte to understand.

As for the Gap Analysis and Tests, I hope that they can serve the role of showing not only which CSS properties have been created to solve the problem of a lack of support for basic Japanese layout needs; but also to show if basic and more advanced layout can actually be achieved using them, across the major Web rendering stacks. The value of the Gap Analysis goes up when it can show not only that a given CSS property exists, but that the property can be used to achieve a representative use case for the feature. We probably need to review the existing tests to make sure they can show this.

The Web is changing faster and faster, and so for new CSS properties under review or discussion, we should draw up a set of tests that essentially make sure the property will fulfill its promise for the Japanese use-case, as it makes its way from draft to implemented-in-all-browsers finality, to aid in its utility for the originally intended use-case.

--Nat