Re: Idle Thought: Accessibility of my PsPC HTML Editor

In a system which doesn't allow for accessibility it is not possible to make
the tool accessible. However such a system is hard to imagine - it would need
to lack an API of any useful kind and not have any facility for input or
output that could not be re-assigned or emulated by another device.

A developer making a tool for such a system, which could not be used on
any other system, would probably have a fair argument that it was
unreasonable to expect them to make the tool accessible according to the
guidelines, and they should be allowed to do something else.

We require that developers conform to various accessibility guidelines, and
argue that it is not necessary for us to say anything more. For this to be
true, those guidelines must explain what the necessary features are - the
ability to control the various functions of the tool, using API or hardware
interfaces other than the normal User Interface, for example.

Given that a simple serial interface and a bit of programming has allowed
computers to be accessible for a long time (including kiosks incorporating an
interface for assistive hardware), if there is an operating system which has
been written in such a way as to preclude these functions, we need to say
more about how to design a tool to make it accessible, like "do not use
environment X". I doubt that this is in fact the case, and would be surprised
if any vendor is currently working on software for a system  which makes
accessibility impossible, even if it has not been implemented. GNOME, for
example, has a speech output system which is not completely implemented. But
it is certainly possible to build an accessible tool for GNOME and ensure
that it has the necessary APIs etc to make it accessible when such a tool is
available. I am not sufficiently familiar with WindowsCE to know the
situation in that OS.

Charles

On Sat, 8 May 1999, Kynn Bartlett wrote:

  [Ooops.  Meant this to go here.]
  
  My Windows CE Palmsize PC computer has an HTML editor on it
  (as well as several browsers).  Given that there are not
  (to the best my understanding) screen reader packages for
  Windows CE, what is the obligation of the editor (or the
  browsers) to be accessible given that the operating system
  is not? :)  [I assume the answer is:  "the point is moot
  since there don't seem to be disabled people using Windows
  CE, or if they are, they are not prevented from using the
  system."]
  
  Just a tongue-in-cheek, stayed-up-too-late thought.
  
  (On the other hand, while my HTML editor may not have to
  support blind users, it _should_ produce accessible HTML,
  so how do we know which of the AU guidelines apply and
  which do not, or will we simply assume that since it
  can't be used accessibly, it isn't required to make
  accessible HTML?  I can't tell if I'm asking stupid 
  questions or if I've identified a problem in our current
  approach.  I.e., I can't go to bSQUARE and say "here,
  follow these guidelines to make your tool accessible"
  because they _can't_ make the tool usable by, say,
  Gregory.)
  
  --
  Kynn Bartlett  <kynn@idyllmtn.com>                   http://www.kynn.com/
  Chief Technologist, Idyll Mountain Internet      http://www.idyllmtn.com/
  Become AWARE of Web Accessibility!                  http://aware.hwg.org/
  Dan Shafer likes AWARE, so will you!          http://www.kynn.com/+shafer
  Next Trip:  Toronto, Canada (13 May-17 May)              http://www8.org/
  
  
  
  --
  Kynn Bartlett <kynn@hwg.org>
  President, Governing Board Member
  HTML Writers Guild <URL:http://www.hwg.org>
  Director, Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education Center
    <URL:http://aware.hwg.org/>
  

--Charles McCathieNevile            mailto:charles@w3.org
phone: +1 617 258 0992   http://www.w3.org/People/Charles
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative    http://www.w3.org/WAI
MIT/LCS  -  545 Technology sq., Cambridge MA, 02139,  USA

Received on Tuesday, 11 May 1999 17:40:13 UTC