Re: ALT revisited (short-term)

As Al has pointed out in a different context (see his WAI process paper),
the use of HTTP as the transport mechanism can not always be assumed. For
example, collections of HTML documents can reside on a local file system.
Perhaps one can state a general principle that the solution to an access
problem should generally be found within the same protocol or standard as
the feature which gives rise to difficulty in the first place. Thus, in
this instance, it is the availability of img and object elements within
HTML that refer to graphical resources, which leads to a legitimate demand
for long descriptions. Consequently, a solution should be included within
HTML itself, or perhaps within the image files. My understanding is that
there is no prescribed standard for image file formats that are to be used
on the web. If such a standard were developed, then it would be
appropriate to include textual descriptions within image files and allow
them to be transferred by HTTP independently of the graphical content.

Jason White.

Received on Wednesday, 2 July 1997 20:28:24 UTC