- From: Jason White <jasonw@ariel.ucs.unimelb.EDU.AU>
- Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 10:07:22 +1000 (AEST)
- To: WAI Working Group <w3c-wai-wg@w3.org>
I agree that the HTML specification is not a suitable location for describing the preferred dictionary file format and that the issue should be treated separately. Would it be best to develop an "abbreviation dictionary" specification specifically for this purpose, as a separate document, which could perhaps be included on one of the W3C pages that deals with markup? I would still maintain the importance of defining the dictionary file format, and of doing so before the concept of an abbreviation dictionary is widely implemented so that there is little opportunity for divergent standards and incompatibilities to arise. Abbreviation dictionaries are likely to be relatively small, and require only two fields per entry: one for the abbreviation and the other for its expansion. Thus, the file format would be relatively simple, and I would suggest using an HTML document for several reasons. Firstly, it can easily be created using any HTML authoring tool or text editor. Secondly, the markup for language identification and the full ISO 10646 character set would be available, as is necessary in a truly international context. Thirdly, HTML provides a simple mechanism, namely the definition list, whereby abbreviations and their expanded forms can be listed.
Received on Wednesday, 16 July 1997 20:07:34 UTC