Glossary needs a definition of "binding"

One of the edits that Kim noted in her review of the guidelines and 
glossary is that we do not have a definition of "binding". I searched 
the W3C TR site for glossary definitions of binding, but found little 
that seemed to match our need. (detail following) I went to Wikipedia, 
and found a definition that is closer to our needs, but it is too long 
to match our glossary use (although we could link to it).

I have put in a temporary link to our keyboard shortcut definition, but 
would appreciate some agreement from the group how best to proceed.

Another alternative would be to standardize on another phrase and 
eliminate "binding".

It is used in our document:
4.1.2 Specify preferred keystrokes:: The user can override any keyboard 
shortcut including recognized author supplied shortcuts (e.g accesskeys) 
and user interface controls, except for conventional bindings for the 
operating environment (e.g., for access to help). (Level AA)

4.1.10 Override of UI Keyboard Commands: The user can override any 
keyboard shortcut binding for the user agent user interface except for 
conventional bindings for the operating environment (e.g. access to 
help). The rebinding options must include single-key and 
key-plus-modifier keys if available in the operating environment. (Level AA)

4.1.11 User Override of Accesskeys: The user can override any recognized 
author supplied content keybinding (i.e. access key). The user must have 
an option to save the override of user interface keyboard shortcuts so 
that the rebinding persists beyond the current session. (Level AA)

4.1.12 Specify preferred keystrokes: The user can override any keyboard 
shortcut including recognized author supplied shortcuts (e.g. 
accesskeys) and user interface controls, except for conventional 
bindings for the operating environment (e.g. access to help). (Level AA)

Glossary:
explicit user request
     Any user interaction by the user through the user agent user 
interface, the focus, or the selection. User requests are made, for 
example, through user agent user interface controls and keyboard bindings.

input configuration
     The set of "bindings" between user agent functionalities and user 
interface input mechanisms (e.g., menus, buttons, keyboard keys, and 
voice commands). The default input configuration is the set of bindings 
the user finds after installation of the software. Input configurations 
may be affected by author-specified bindings (e.g., through the 
accesskey attribute of HTML 4 [HTML4]).



Some existing definitions I found are:

Web Services:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/NOTE-ws-gloss-20040211/#binding
binding
1. An association between an interface, a concrete protocol and a data 
format. A binding specifies the protocol and data format to be used in 
transmitting messages defined by the associated interface. [WSD Reqs]
2. The mapping of an interface and its associated operations to a 
particular concrete message format and transmission protocol.

XForms:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/REC-xforms-20031014/slice13.html#def-binding
Binding
A "binding" connects an instance data node to a form control or to a 
model item constraint by using a binding expression as a locater.

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_(computer_science)#Command_binding
Command binding

Command bindings, commonly referred to as keyboard macros, or simply 
macros, are frequently built into professional quality computer 
applications. In many of these, bindings can be modified or added, but 
usually cannot be removed (i.e., the keystroke combination cannot be 
unassociated from the function with which it is associated).

As an example of a command binding, most applications on Mac OS bind the 
"Save" menu item to the Command-S keyboard shortcut, so that Command-S 
can be used to save a document instead of having to navigate to that 
menu item each time. The Emacs text editor binds the 
"save-buffers-kill-emacs" command to the Control-X Control-C keystrokes 
in sequence, so that the user does not have to type 
"save-buffers-kill-emacs" whenever who wants to save and quit. Some 
computer applications, such as Microsoft Excel, allow the user to create 
a macro to do several common operations in sequence, and then have a 
keystroke combination activate that macro.

Received on Thursday, 4 November 2010 16:53:07 UTC