toolbar -- structure or composite widget?

In a conversation yesterday, Joseph Scheuhammer asked "is a toolbar
a composite [role = widget]?"  And I said 'Yes.'

By the spec I gave the wrong answer; the ancestor chain up
from 'toolbar' is

   - 'group'
   - 'section'
   - 'structure'

... no thread to 'composite' or 'widget' is indicated.

My bad.

On the other hand, the spec paragraph for 'toolbar'

http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/aria/#toolbar

.. indicates that such an object MUST manage focus among its
descendants.  In the simple case that the toolbar is just a
structure collecting widgets, and marked with this role for
landmark effect, with all enabled controls in the tab order,
this injunction would seem inappropriate.

Checking with the Style Guide:

http://dev.aol.com/dhtml_style_guide#toolbar

The style guide calls for one TAB stop in the toolbar and
arrow navigation within the toolbar.  This is composite widget
behavior, with the tab sequence optimized to hit the toolbar
just once.

So if we are to adopt the preferences of the Style Guide group,
the "parent role" for 'toolbar' should indeed be 'composite' and
not 'group' as at present.

So: sorry Joseph, you have an issue and not an answer.

Al

Received on Tuesday, 22 July 2008 15:19:21 UTC