Definition "content" :PLEASE DEFINE

On to our second definition to define.  "Content" must have a definition
soon, this is most critical for WCAG 2.0 and related Technique
docs...............there was quite a bit of discussion on several
occassions about content on different lists...............I'll go
hunting for that now...........but please don't wait for
that...............fire away............ 

I have included existing definitions and discussions of terms, in this
order below:

	0. <katie suggests>
	1. WAI Printable Glossary (with W3C sources)
	2. From External (non-w3c) Glossaries
	3. Mail References for "content" from various w3c lists



...........and just to fire off the first shot............

<katie suggests, the ISO def with some elementary clarification and WCAG
draft cyber-mix>

content: 

The code characters that occur between the start-tag and end-tag in a
document instance are the element's content.
They can be interpreted as data, proper subelements, included
subelements, other markup, or a mixture of them. This character content
can include text as well as images, text in raster images, image map
regions, animations (e.g., animated GIFs), applets and programmatic
objects, ascii art, scripts, images used as list bullets, spacers,
graphical buttons, sounds (played with or without user interaction),
stand-alone audio files, audio tracks of video, and video.

NOTE: If an element has an explicit content reference, or its declared
content is "EMPTY", the content is empty. In such cases, the application
itself may generate data and process it as though it were content data.
(ISO 8879, as referenced in ISO 12083)
</katie suggests>

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WAI Printable Glossary
http://WWW.w3.org/WAI/GL/Glossary/printable.html#def-content1

Content [ATAG10] 
In this specification, the term "content" is used in two ways: 

Content refers to the document object as a whole or in parts. Phrases
such as "content type", "text content", and "language of content" refer
to this usage. When used in this sense, the term content encompasses
equivalent alternatives. Refer also to the definition of rendered
content. and other accessibility information. 
Content refers to the content of an HTML or XML element, in the sense
employed by the XML 1.0 specification ( XML, section 3.1): "The text
between the start-tag and end-tag is called the element's content."
Context should indicate that the term content is being used in this
sense. 


Content [UAAG10] NEW 01-01-25 
In this specification, the term "content" is used in three ways: 

Content refers to the document object as a whole or in parts. Phrases
such as "content type", "text content", and "language of content" refer
to this usage. When used in this sense, the term content encompasses
equivalent alternatives. Refer also to the definition of rendered
content. and other accessibility information. 
Content refers to the content of an HTML or XML element, in the sense
employed by the XML 1.0 specification ( XML, section 3.1): "The text
between the start-tag and end-tag is called the element's content."
Context should indicate that the term content is being used in this
sense. 
Content is used in the context of the phrases non-text content and text
content. 

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From External (non-w3c) Glossaries:


ISO  International Standards
http://www.niso.org/international/SC4/sc4gla2c.html

content: Characters that occur between the start-tag and end-tag of an
element in a document instance. They can be interpreted as data, proper
subelements, included subelements, other markup, or a mixture of them.
NOTE: If an element has an explicit content reference, or its declared
content is "EMPTY", the content is empty. In such cases, the application
itself may generate data and process it as though it were content data.
(ISO 8879, as referenced in ISO 12083)

content convention: An application convention governing data content,
such as a restriction on length, allowable characters, or use of
tipper-case and lower-case letters. NOTE: A content convention is
essentially an informal data content notation, usually restricted to a
single element type. (ISO 8879, as referenced in ISO 12083)

(content) model: Parameter of an element declaration that specifies the
model group and exceptions that define the allowed content of the
element. (ISO 8879, as referenced in ISO 12083)

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Content-Wire.com Glossary:
http://www.content-wire.com/Glossary/Index.cfm

Aggregation (of online content)
Online aggregation is the process of gathering and storing content from
various sources, that it gets sorted and distributed according to rules,
preferences or levels of service. Aggregation is based on a 'pull'
dynamic, and it is generally the first process of a syndication routine,
which is a 'push' dynamic.

Content 
Raw information becomes content when it is given a useable form intended
for one or more purposes. Increasingly, the value of content is based
upon the combination of its primary useable form, along with its
application, accessibility, usage, usefulness, brand recognition, and
uniqueness. Information passed casually around in the world is not
content. It becomes content when we grab it and try to make some use of
it. (Content Watch) Also the emerging industry driven by monetization
business models, that leverages the value of content and it is online
exchange dynamics. (Content-wire)

Content Delivery
On the Internet, content delivery (aka content distribution or caching)
is the process of copying the pages of a Web site to geographically
dispersed servers and, when a page is requested, dynamically identifying
and serving the page from the closest server to the user, enabling
faster delivery. High-traffic Web site owners and Internet service
providers (ISPs) hire the services of the company that provides content
delivery. A common content delivery approach involves the placement of
cache servers at major Internet access points around the world and the
use of a special routing code that redirects a Web page request
(technically, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol - HTTP - request) to the
closest server. When the Web user clicks on a URL that is
content-delivery enabled, the content delivery network re-routes that
user's request away from the site's originating server to a cache server
closer to the user. The cache server determines what content in the
request exists in the cache, serves that content, and retrieves any
non-cached content from the originating server. New content is also
cached locally. Other than faster loading times, the process is
generally transparent to the user, except that the URL served may be
different than the one requested. Content delivery can also be used for
specific high-traffic events such as live Web broadcasts by continually
dispersing content from the originating server to other servers via
satellite links. Content delivery is similar to but more selective and
dynamic than the simple copying or mirroring of a Web site to one or
several geographically dispersed servers. (Definition by Cdd/101,
masters of content delivery knowledge)

Content Management
The concept of Content Management has evolved very rapidly towards the
end of the last millennium. The very first definitions were not making a
clear distinction between Document, Knowledge and Content Management,
while evolutionary thinking establishes that the three disciplines above
are connected but distinct. Content-wire glossary is temporarily
adopting the definition proposed by Content-Bridge Alliance, until
further elaboration is available: In its purest form, Content Management
is simply a set of rules and processes for contributing, collaborating
on and controlling content. It may include document management through
common workflows, media management based on a centralized contentbase
and common tools for content creation and publishing. In its broadest
sense, Content Management is a combination of software tools and
business processes that allow corporations to effectively manage and
deliver large amounts of diverse information to different media in the
most effective means.

Original Content
Unique work of the Mind. It is manifest in works of art, and in most
expressions of the intellectual and creative human activities (when
functioning properly). The manipulation and contextualization of known
news and facts, once expressed in a unique form or manner, are also
original content. Years of controversy surround the definition or
'unique' and 'original', and require highly specialized legal technical
skills to assess merit in matters of copyright and intellectual property
law. Original Content is key to new economy business models.

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Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary:
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

4con·tent 
Pronunciation: 'kän-"tent
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin contentus, past participle of
continEre to contain
Date: 15th century
1 a : something contained -- usually used in plural <the jar's contents>
<the drawer's contents> b : the topics or matter treated in a written
work <table of contents>
2 a : SUBSTANCE, GIST b : MEANING, SIGNIFICANCE c : the events, physical
detail, and information in a work of art -- compare FORM 10b
3 a : the matter dealt with in a field of study b : a part, element, or
complex of parts
4 : the amount of specified material contained : PROPORTION 

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INTRODUCTION to Metadata:
http://www.getty.edu/research/institute/standards/intrometadata/4_glossa
ry/index.html

content model
A schema that defines data (including metadata) structures, including
the types of elements, subelements, and values they can contain.

content standard
Standard authorities or sets of rules that determine the vocabulary,
syntax, or format of what is entered into a data or metadata element,
e.g., Art & Architecture Thesaurus, Library of Congress Subject
Headings, Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, or Archives, Personal Papers,
and Manuscripts.


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ZEBRA Glossary:
http://www.unt.edu/wmoen/Z3950/GIZMO/appendix_d.htm

Content semantics: Standardized data model with shared semantic
knowledge for specific communities. Include both rules and structures
for maintaining a shared understanding of semantic knowledge. Z sets out
standardized record syntax and related record composition parameters.

Content resources: Includes the acquisition of a collection of
bibliographic or other information object records (such as digital
images or museum objects) to serve as the test collection.



Shared Skills
http://www.sharedskills.com/glossary_c.htm#content

content
Anything, including other elements, character data, and entities, found
between the START and END tags of an element. 

content-based markup
Markup that describes content intended to be read and processed by a
computer to accomplish a task instead of displayed for a user. The Open
Software Description (OSD) vocabulary, which is designed to describe
software packages to be installed by a server across a network, is an
example of content-based markup. 

content model
In a DTD, the definition of the content (Element or character) that can
be nested within any given element. 



Telecom Glossary
http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/projects/t1glossary2000/_content.html

content: In Web terminology, the text, media, and links or information
displayed by a browser at a particular Web site. [Bahorsky] 



SIRSI
http://www.sirsi.com/glossary.html

Content — Common term for information or knowledge managed and shared
over the Internet 



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Mail References for "content":
From:  Sean P.

"Really, "Web Content" should be used to indicate any network
retrievable "Web Resource" [2], but I think that WCAG uses it in the
sense of "content suitable for use in a hypermedia environment", i.e.
anything that can be handled by HTTP."
 http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/wai-xtech/2001May/0019.html


From: Ian Jacobs

UAAG 1.0 uses "content = document object".
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/wai-xtech/2001May/0036.html
"it would seem that
content is what you get back as the manifestation of a resource"
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/wai-xtech/2001May/0042.html





Katie Haritos-Shea

Internet/Software/Device Accessibility and Standards
Strategist/Developer/Evangelist

#571-220-7777

Received on Sunday, 20 January 2002 21:31:09 UTC