RE: [techs] Definitions of complex data tables

Good solution. It makes sense not to try to lump together things that
don't lump.


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-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org] On
Behalf Of Jim Thatcher
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 8:49 am
To: 'Michael Cooper'; 'WAI GL (E-mail)'
Subject: 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 10:24:32 UTC