RE: [techs] Definitions of complex data tables

Sorry, my last message did not respect Michael's request to stick to the
definition, and not what would be required when. So how about three classes
of data tables - to separate out those tables where there may be
disagreement as to what should be required:

From Michael's message 
* Complex tables have cells for which header cells are not in the same row
or same column as the cell.

* Layered tables have more than one row of row headers and/or more than one
row of column headers and header cells are in the same row and/or column as
the data cell.

* Simple tables have at most one row and at most one column of headings and
header cells are in the same row and/or column as the data cell.

It seems we could agree to those, even if not the term "layered".

Jim
Accessibility, What Not to do: http://jimthatcher.com/whatnot.htm.
Web Accessibility Tutorial: http://jimthatcher.com/webcourse1.htm.


-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org] On Behalf
Of Michael Cooper
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 2:56 PM
To: WAI GL (E-mail)
Subject: [techs] Definitions of complex data tables


In last week's Techniques call [1] we were talking about some
characteristics we wanted to require for data tables. For some of those
characteristics, it seemed that we might only want to require them for
complex data tables, but not for simple data tables. Possible parts of a
definition are:

* Complex tables have more than one row of headers, or more than one column
of headers, or both.

* Complex tables have cells for which header cells are not in the same row
or same column as the cell.

* The HTML 4.01 specification provides some hints as well. [2]

These are just thrown out for ideas. We'd like to hear from members of the
list: how would you (or would you) define a data table as simple or complex?

By the way, I'm not talking about the features we were thinking of applying
only to complex data tables because I don't want to create a tangent about
that. We'll open that discussion once we have some agreement about
differentiating these tables.

Michael

[1] http://www.w3.org/2004/05/19-wai-wcag-irc
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/struct/tables.html#non-visual-rendering

--- Signature ---

Michael Cooper
Accessibility Product Manager, Watchfire
1 Hines Rd Suite 200, Kanata, ON  K2K 3C7  Canada
Tel: +1 (613) 599-3888 x4019
Fax: +1 (613) 599-4661
Email: michaelc@watchfire.com
Web: http://www.watchfire.com/

Received on Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:50:09 UTC