Transform Gracefully

Here is my stuff from the glossary meeting on this term:

Transform Gracefully: To present the same information or function, regardless
of the medium used.

Example: a web page that uses a style sheet to provide a particularly
beautiful font for text transforms gracefully if the text can be understood
without the particular font.

Example: An applet for drawing may allow changing of the pen style by
selecting different items with a mouse. If this is not also possible with a
keyboard, the function does not transform gracefully. It is not a "true or
false" proposition. If there are 200 brushes to be chosen from, it causes
difficulty for keyboard users if they need to pass through all 200 options to
make the selection. Providing a means of selecting via the keyboard that
allows for choosing a type of brush and then a specific member of that type,
meaning that at most 20 choices are passed over,  is a more graceful
transformation. (Note that if the brush selection relies on a visual
presentation of the brush, the function will not transform gracefully, in
particular for users who cannot see the brushes.)



-- 
Charles McCathieNevile    http://www.w3.org/People/Charles  phone: +61 409 134 136
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative     http://www.w3.org/WAI    fax: +1 617 258 5999
Location: I-cubed, 110 Victoria Street, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia
(or W3C INRIA, Route des Lucioles, BP 93, 06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France)

Received on Monday, 5 March 2001 19:52:59 UTC