RE: Re: System API checkpoint issue

>> I had a brief meeting with the IBM web browser team and we discussed
>> Mozilla accessibility. Mozilla is designed as a cross-platform solution
>> even though it is compiled for each platform. It turns out that all
>> components including the application chrome can be accessed through their
>> DOM. Our guidelines state that we need to use the system-provided
>> accessibility features like MSAA however they also require that we use
>the
>> DOM albeit for the actual document.
>
>"Their DOM" is not the same as "The DOM" (meaning the W3C DOM).
>Therefore,
>despite the good design idea of making the system platform independent,
>by not using system conventions or a recognized API, the design causes
>assistive technologies to lose. Consistency among the interfaces
>offered by the particular user agent across different platforms may
>be less important than consistency among different pieces of software
>on a given platform.
>
>Perhaps the checkpoints are flawed or behavior in the case of
>overlap is underspecified. Consider these three requirements:
>
>  1) Implement system conventions (checkpoint 5.2 of [1])
>  2) Implement the W3C DOM (checkpoint 5.6)
>  3) Implement your own, accessible and open API (checkpoint 5.1).
>      NOTE: I'd like to review what 5.1 means exactly.
>
>Mozilla seems to be doing 3 at the expense of 1. Is there a
>way to map Mozilla's API to MSAA on Windows?
>
>This seems like a real issue where developer and AT input would
>be very useful.
>
> - Ian
I don't think the guidelines should specify any particular technique for
achieving the functionality of the checkpoints.  The techniques document
describes ways that the guidelines can be met, but things change over time.
The functionality (exposing the content of a web document to AT devices)
doesn't.

Denis Anson, MS, OTR
Assistant Professor
College Misericordia
301 Lake St.
Dallas, PA 18612

Member since 1989:
RESNA: An International Association of Assistive Techology Professionals
Website: http://www.resna.org
RESNA ANNUAL CONFERENCE -- "RESNA 2000"
ORLANDO, FL, JUNE 28 -- July 2, 2000

Received on Friday, 3 December 1999 14:20:33 UTC