TECHNIQUE: 7.2.1

Checkpoint 7.2.1
Provide programatic access for dependent user agents to the user interface by
using operating system and development language accessibility resources and
conventions.

Technique

Most of the current assistive technology available to improve the access to
computer based technologies for people with disabilities is designed to
provide
access to non-specific software applications with in an operating system.
User
agents rendering WWW content is just one type of application the assistive
technology is providing access.  For software applications to be compatible
with these types of assistive technologies they need to follow standard
operating system conventions for accessibility and in the case of some
types of
operating systems use accessibility APIs to provide additional information to
assistive technologies.  Operating systems with accessibility APIs include
this
functionality in standard controls and display rendering APIs.  User agents
which use standard controls and rendering APIs will have a basic level of
compatibility with existing assistive technologies.  The complexity of visual
rendering of WWW content though often requires additional information about
the
content rendered which means making more information about the content
available through the accessibility API.

Current operating system accessible design guidelines:
1.      Microsoft Windows (http://www.microsoft.com/enable/dev/)
2.      Java (http://www.sun.com/access/ and
http://www.austin.ibm.com/sns/snsjavag.htm)
3.      Apple Macintosh (http://www.apple.com/education/k12/disability/)

Current accessibility application programming interfaces:
1. Active Accessibility  (http://www.microsoft.com/enable/msaa/)
2. Java accessibility API (provide URL later)
3. Java Swing Classes (provide URL later)  
Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
1207 S. Oak Street
Champaign, IL 61820

Voice: 217-244-5870
Fax: 217-333-0248
E-mail: jongund@uiuc.edu
WWW:	http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
	http://www.als.uiuc.edu/InfoTechAccess

Received on Wednesday, 2 June 1999 12:03:59 UTC