Re: [techs] The TH Rule

What I am saying Chris, is that TH is *not* the only way to specify a header, as 
it says the spec, not only the comment extracted. I am not saying that TH shall 
not be used.

Chris Ridpath wrote:
>...
>>
> Using TH elements for data tables is within the HTML specification. It's
> perfectly OK and is the intended purpose of the TH element.
> 
> Navigating data tables using assistive technologies is very difficult but
> adding TH elements to the table can help make the navigation easier. This is
> the reason behind the TH rule. It's not required as part of the HTML spec
> but can be required by accessibility guidelines. I believe that this simple
> rule can make a large difference in creating more accessible tables.
> 
> 
>>"<!-- TH is for headers, TD for data, but for cells acting as both use
> 
> TD -->"
> 
> This is a comment within the specification. It's not a requirement for
> compliance. Below is another comment from the HTML spec that states your ALT
> text should be a description of the image. Our accessibility guidelines run
> contrary to that comment and require that spacer and decorative images do
> not have a description and should be null. Yes, we must follow the HTML
> specification but we don't have to abide with editor comments.

In my view, an empty "alt" attribute is a value. As you know, in many 
programming languages, a "null" string is not the same as an "empty" string. I 
do not see any contradiction here between the guidelines and the spec.

regards,
carlos

-- 
Dr Carlos A Velasco - mailto:Carlos.Velasco@fit.fraunhofer.de
Fraunhofer-Institut für Angewandte Informationstechnik FIT
   [Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (FIT)]
   http://access.fit.fraunhofer.de/
   Barrierefreie Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie für Alle
   Schloss Birlinghoven, D53757 Sankt Augustin (Germany)
   Tel: +49-2241-142609 Fax: +49-2241-1442609

Received on Tuesday, 11 May 2004 02:52:53 UTC