clarification of table linearization

There has been a request for clarification from the Evaluation and Repair 
tools working group regarding table linearization.  The group referred to 
the definition in the glossary of WCAG 1.0, while I thought the 
interpretation in the Techniques for WCAG 1.0 was preferred.  Regardless, 
the two definitions are out of synch and we need to fix that.

thoughts?

compare the techniques document 
http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT-TECHS/#tables-layout (section 4.5.2)
<blockquote>
Authors should use style sheets for layout and positioning. However, when 
it is necessary to use a table for layout, the table must linearize in a 
readable order. When a table is linearized, the contents of the cells 
become a series of paragraphs (e.g., down the page) one after another. 
Cells should make sense when read in order (row-wise or column-wise) and 
should include structural elements (that create paragraphs, headers, lists, 
etc.) so the page makes sense after linearization.
</blockquote>

with the definition in the glossary of WCAG 
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505/wai-pageauth.html#lineariz 
ed-table

<blockquote>A table rendering process where the contents of the cells 
become a series of paragraphs (e.g., down the page) one after another. The 
paragraphs will occur in the same order as the cells are defined in the 
document source. Cells should make sense when read in order and should 
include structural elements (that create paragraphs, headers, lists, etc.) 
so the page makes sense after linearization.
</blockquote>

--wendy
--
wendy a chisholm
world wide web consortium
web accessibility initiative
madison, wi usa
tel: +1 608 663 6346
/--

Received on Tuesday, 18 January 2000 12:58:00 UTC