Re: Technique 5.6 (abbr in TH)

Gregory,

Prompting for a terse version of a TH (to be stored in the ABBR attribute)
sounds simple and clear enough. What text string is long enough that it
requires a terse version? How about 15 characters (about 3 words)?

Prompting for the long version of an abbreviated TH (to be stored in an ABBR
element) sounds like a good idea too. What text strings require expansion?
How about any string that has a word that is all caps?

This leads into a discussion of technique 4.2 (Specify The Expansion Of Each
Abbreviation) http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/#Checkpoint4.2
Perhaps we can tackle it next week after the discussion of tables.

Chris

----- Original Message -----
From: Gregory J. Rosmaita <unagi69@concentric.net>
To: Chris Ridpath <chris.ridpath@utoronto.ca>
Cc: Evaluation & Repair Interest Group <w3c-wai-er-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 1999 2:44 PM
Subject: Re: Technique 5.6 (abbr in TH)


> aloha, chris!
>
> i agree that we should encourage the use of both the ABBR element and the
ABBR
> attribute in TH, but am unsure as to whether it is practical to encourage
them
> to use both...
>
> as a start, i would push that (at least until the issue is further
clarified by
> GL and PF), that we prompt according to the parameters set forth in my
original
> post -- namely:
>
> 1) if the TH name is longer than X characters (X being a number to be
agreed
> upon by the ER-IG), use the ABBR attribute to provide a tersified version
>
> for example, if the ER tool encountered:
>
> <TH>Percentage of Domestic Pigs That Can Fly</TH>
>
> it would prompt for an abbreviated version of the TH text.  Note: A
hard-coded
> limit should be placed on the number of characters that can be used for
the
> ABBR attribute; this limit should correspond to the number which is used
to
> toggle between "Suggest Use of the ABBR attribute" and "Suggest Use of the
ABBR
> element".
>
> [side note: while i'm philosophically inclined to limit the number of
> characters allowed in the ABBR attribute definition, practically, this may
be a
> very bad idea -- i'd rather have an abbreviation for a verbose header be a
bit
> more verbose than 5 or 6 characters (which would, in effect, force the
author
> to define a pseudo-acronym for the contents of TH)
>
> for example, i'd find
>
> <TH abbr="Domestic Fliers">Percentage of Domestic Pigs That Can Fly</TH>
>
> far more useful than
>
> <TH abbr="PDPTCF">Percentage of Domestic Pigs That Can Fly</TH>
>
> :end side note]
>
> 2) if the TH name is less than X characters, use the ABBR element to
provide an
> expansion for the terse header text
>
> example:
>
> if the ER tool encounters the following:
>
> <TH>% of D.P.</TH>
>
> it would prompt for an abbreviation:
>
> <TH><ABBR title="Percentage of Domestic Pigs That Can Fly">% of
> D.P.</ABBR></TH>
>
> [side note 2: in attempting to devise an example, i have convinced myself
of
> the inherent limitations of using a numeric toggle as a determinant...  it
may
> well be that this is a case where a simple algorithm will not suffice, so
> perhaps, Chris, your suggestion that the ER tool prompt for both is the
best
> (currently available) solution to this impasse]
>
> gregory.
>
> At 09:37 AM 11/24/99 Chris wrote:
> >Thanks for the clarification on the ABBR attribute and the ABBR element.
> >
> >Can't we use both?
> >If the TH name is long then use the ABBR attribute to provide a short
> >version.
> >If the TH name is abbreviated then use the ABBR element to provide the
long
> >version.
> >
> >Perhaps both could be used at the same time - Example:
> ><TH ABBR="pigs group"><ABBR TITLE="National Organization For The
Advancement
> >Of Flying Pigs">N.O.F.T.A.O.F.P</ABBR></TH>
> >
> >Chris
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: Gregory J. Rosmaita <unagi69@concentric.net>
> >To: Evaluation & Repair Interest Group <w3c-wai-er-ig@w3.org>
> >Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 1999 11:06 PM
> >Subject: Technique 5.6 (abbr in TH)
> >
> >
> >> aloha, y'all!
> >>
> >> whilst discharging the action item i accepted at monday's
teleconference,
> >> to ask the GL WG for clarification of WCAG Checkpoint 5.6, i revisited
the
> >> HTML4 section on tables, and discovered that we and GL had been talking
> >> about 2 different pieces of markup...
> >>
> >> when i heard the term abbreviation, i had immediately thought of the
HTML4
> >> element ABBR, use of which (i still believe) makes sense when encoding
> >> table headers that have been tersified by the author in order to
preserve
> >> the perceived gracefulness and uniformity of column width and header
size
> >> of the table he or she is encoding when it is rendered by a
> >> visually-oriented user agent...
> >>
> >> WCAG approached the issue from the opposite angle, working with the
HTML4
> >> definition of the "abbr" _attribute_ which is related to the TH and TD
> >> elements...  according to the definition contained in the HTML4 rec
> >> [reference 1]
> >>
> >> quote
> >> This attribute should be used to provide an abbreviated form of the
cell's
> >> content, and may be rendered by user agents when appropriate in place
of
> >> the cell's content. Abbreviated names should be short since user agents
> >may
> >> render them repeatedly. For instance, speech synthesizers may render
the
> >> abbreviated headers relating to a particular cell before rendering that
> >> cell's content.
> >> unquote
> >>
> >> which is consistent with WCAG Checkpoint 5.6
> >>
> >> however, i question whether the WCAG scenario is actually more common
in
> >> the wild than the ERT scenario i outlined during the 22 November
telecon,
> >> an excerpt from which follows -- CR stands for Chris Ridpath; LK for
Len
> >> Kasday; MC for Michael Cooper; and GJR for me...
> >>
> >> -- begin excerpt from 22 November ER-IG Teleconference
> >> CR: Technique 5.6: Abbreviations for Header Labels; if have table
header
> >> that has short word as header, don't need ABBR, but if have verbose
> >header,
> >> may need ABBR
> >>
> >> LK: what does the GL actually say -- does it use the word abbreviations
or
> >> ABBR?
> >>
> >> MC: note mentions HTML's ABBR attribute
> >>
> >> LK: on face of it, could this mean that GLs are wrongly interpreting
ABBR?
> >>
> >> CR: [reads technique for checkpoint from WCAG]
> >>
> >> LK: does WCAG have it backwards? what is the purpose of this
checkpoint,
> >> and what do they mean by ABBR?
> >>
> >> MC: what exactly is the purpose of ABBR in general?
> >>
> >> GJR: I think that they mean that if you are using an abbreviation in a
> >> header, enclose it in an ABBR container if you are using HTML; ABBR is
> >> important for accessibility because screen readers, for example,
usually
> >> come with a set of abbreviation expansions that have been pre-defined
for
> >> the screen reader's dictionary, so that, for example, when the screen
> >> reader encounters "Dr." it can expand it to either "Drive" (as in an
> >> address) or "Doctor"; if you have an address such as:
> >>        Dr. Smith
> >>       11 Doe Dr.
> >> a screen reader might read it as "Drive Smith, 11 Doe Drive"; by using
the
> >> ABBR element in HTML, however, an author could enclose each instance of
> >the
> >> abbreviation "d r period" in an ABBR, defining the word "Doctor" as the
> >> expansion for the first instance and "Drive" as the expansion for the
> >> second, so as to pass on to the AT the correct expansion for 2
identical
> >> abbreviations; the ABBR element, therefore, allows for the
> >> contextualization of abbreviations, and as such is of inestimable
utility
> >> for accessibility, as well as for anyone indulging in mobile computing
> >>
> >> MC: ok, that explains the HTML element ABBR, but what about this
> >checkpoint?
> >>
> >> LK: WCAG says use terse abbreviation
> >>
> >> GJR: my understanding of the purpose of the checkpoint is that an
author
> >> may want to use an abbreviation for a header for formatting purposes,
so
> >> that the table columns won't distort his or her desired layout or the
> >> perceived gracefulness of the table; if the author has a header that
reads
> >> "Cost of Tractor Part 1294XRQ, model Z299, manufactured by General
Motors'
> >> Construction Parts Plant in Gary, Indiana", he could: (1) abbreviate
it,
> >so
> >> as to keep the heading short and terse; (2) enclose the abbreviation in
an
> >> ABBR, if using HTML, so that anyone using the page visually, can
mouseover
> >> to expand the abbreviation, or, for someone using a screen reader in
> >> combination with a UA with ABBR expansion set to "on", the AT would
speak
> >> the expanded ABBR when that user queries the header, so that he or she
is
> >> returned something semantically sensible, rather than a short string of
> >> cryptic characters, such as "TP Z299"
> >>
> >> // ACTION GJR: ask GL WG for clarification on ABBR in header checkpoint
in
> >WCAG
> >> -- end excerpt from 22 November ER-IG Teleconference
> >>
> >> so, my question to all of you out there in ER-land is, should we ask
the
> >GL
> >> WG to consider our scenario, or should we let sleeping dogs lie?
> >>
> >> while i understand that my extended riff contained in the excerpt above
is
> >> the illegitimate offspring of a misconception -- namely, my mistaking
the
> >> ABBR referred to by Chris for the element, and not the attribute -- i
> >still
> >> believe that, on today's overwhelmingly visually-oriented web, table
> >> headers are more likely to contain actual abbreviations than they are
> >> verbose statements...  of course, whether or not the headers are
verbose
> >> depends upon a number of factors, including the purpose of the table
and
> >> the issuing organization -- if the printed version of a table generated
by
> >> the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, contains a verbose header,
> >> then it is likely that the hypertextualized version will, as well, in
> >which
> >> case use of the abbr attribute is the proper repair strategy -- but if
a
> >> table header uses an actual abbreviation, then an expansion for that
> >> abbreviation should be requested...
> >>
> >> should the latter be mentioned as a special case of the Technique (in
ERT)
> >> and the Checkpoint (in WCAG) that cover use of the ABBR element?
> >>
> >> should the repair strategy for table headers simply employ a simple
> >> algorithm -- if the content of a TH is less than 5 characters, prompt
for
> >a
> >> TITLE to be associated with a containing ABBR; if the content of a TH
is
> >> greater than 5, prompt for an abbreviation (using the abbr attribute
> >> associated with TH and TD)
> >>
> >> in any case, i believe that both scenarios need to be addressed by WCAG
> >and
> >> ERT...
> >>
> >> gregory
> >>
> >> PS: here is what the HTML4 rec has to say on the subject of ABBR
> >[reference 2]
> >>
> >> quote
> >> The ABBR and ACRONYM elements allow authors to clearly indicate
> >occurrences
> >> of abbreviations and acronyms. Western languages make extensive use of
> >> acronyms such as "GmbH", "NATO", and "F.B.I.", as well as abbreviations
> >> like "M.", "Inc.", "et al.", "etc.". Both Chinese and Japanese use
> >> analogous abbreviation mechanisms, wherein a long name is referred to
> >> subsequently with a subset of the Han characters from the original
> >> occurrence. Marking up these constructs provides useful information to
> >user
> >> agents and tools such as spell checkers, speech synthesizers,
translation
> >> systems and search-engine indexers.
> >>
> >> The content of the ABBR and ACRONYM elements specifies the abbreviated
> >> expression itself, as it would normally appear in running text. The
title
> >> attribute of these elements may be used to provide the full or expanded
> >> form of the expression.
> >> unquote
> >>
> >> References
> >> 1. http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html4/struct/tables.html#adef-abbr
> >> 2. http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html4/struct/text.html#edef-ABBR
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
> He that lives on Hope, dies farting
>      -- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1763
> --------------------------------------------------------
> Gregory J. Rosmaita <unagi69@concentric.net>
>    WebMaster and Minister of Propaganda, VICUG NYC
>         <http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/index.html>
> --------------------------------------------------------

Received on Thursday, 25 November 1999 10:33:58 UTC