Re: table headers - clear description of problem

Ian Hickson 2008-08-25 13.37:

> On Mon, 25 Aug 2008, Steven Faulkner wrote:

>> So in order to support AT's that do not implement the HTML5 algorithms, 
>> authors who want to use HTML5 will be forced to write non-conformant 
>> code.
> 
> Sure, but that's just like how today's UAs don't support <progress> or 
> <datagrid>, so if people want to write conforming pages that have 
> progress bars or datagrids they'll have to hack around it for now.

Both progress bars and <progress> need hacking today. Header 
association and @headers don't. And unlike for progress bars, 
there also isn't a way to "hack" support for HTML 5 header 
association, unless you consider @headers to be that hack. (!)

But specifying HTML 5 without support for @headers will have the 
effect of deprecating @headers. It may cause doubt about the 
cost/benefit of implementing it amongst those UA vendors which 
haven't yet done so, with years in limbo as result.

We know that ARIA is coming, even if it is not mentioned in HTML 5 
yet. And the next JAWS beta is already adding support for it. 
That's how important signals are.
-- 
leif halvard silli

Received on Monday, 25 August 2008 13:34:19 UTC