Re: Definition "content" :PLEASE DEFINE

Good topic...

There are several uses of content in play.

One is "element content" in the strict XML sense - the stuff between an
opening tag and its closing tag, which may include elements (e.g. for the
content of an HTML head element it is required for validity to include a
title element)

Another is the information contained in an element, which will include
attribute values. I suggest we use the longer form "information contained in
an element"

Then there is the content of a document.

This includes information contained in elements, and may also include a more
abstract notion of "the information a document is conveying".

This is an important difference. It is not required at the moment that all
the information contained in all the elements of a document be in an
accessible form, although UAAG requires that a user can get any of the
information contained in any element of the document (by some means).

WCAG does require that "the information a document is conveying" is all
available in an accessible form.

For example, the following code fragment

  <object data="image" type="image/png">
    There is a very close correspondence between the average maximum daily
    temparature in Melbourne and how close the date is to mid-February.
  <object>

probably includes information in a purely graphical format, and information
in a purely textual format. Neither of these pieces of information is by
itself accessible, at least in terms of triple-A conformance to WCAG 1.0.
However the information being conveyed, by being available in two forms,
probably is.

I suggest we use four different terms:

"information provided by an element": The element content, and any additional
information referred to by attributes of an element. In HTML, this includes
such things as objects referred to by an object or img element, alternative
text included in an alt attribute, the information provided by title
attributes, and the text or information inside an element such as a p, a, or
code element.

"element content": The text or other elements contained between the opening
tag and the closing tag of an element in an XML or XML-like language.

"document content": All the text, elements and data contained in a document,
or referred to by elements contained in a document.

"information conveyed by a document": The essential content which the author
considers the document is conveying. This may duplicated in a document, for
example by having textual versions and references to graphic representations
in teh same document content.

Chaals

On Sun, 20 Jan 2002, Katie Haritos-Shea wrote:

  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>

  ........................................................................
  ..........................

  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.

  ........................................................................
  ............................

  >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)

  ........................................................................
  .............................

  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.

  ........................................................................
  ...........................

  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

  ........................................................................
  .........................

  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.


  ........................................................................
  .........................


  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



  ........................................................................
  ............................

  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



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Received on Monday, 21 January 2002 08:01:55 UTC