RE: Using HTML form controls and links (Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value))

Michael,

 

thank you for your quick answer. I would like to propose that a comment could be added to

 

http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/H91 <http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/H91> 

 

indicating that there are other alternatives (ARIA) for fulfilling the success criteria as soon the respective sections about ARIA are available.

 

Also, a back/related reference to 

 

http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/G10 <http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/G10> 

 

could be added.

 

- Stefan

 

 

From: Michael Cooper [mailto:cooper@w3.org] 
Sent: Dienstag, 2. Juni 2009 15:28
To: Schnabel, Stefan
Cc: Richard Schwerdtfeger; wai-xtech@w3.org; w3c-wai-pf@w3.org
Subject: Re: Using HTML form controls and links (Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value))

 

The short answer is that any of the ARIA techniques satisfy WCAG 2.0, if ARIA is accessibility supported. I think that's the answer you're looking for...

The long answer:

The WCAG techniques are not normative at all. Sometimes we only document one way to satisfy a given success criterion, but always expect that another way might come along. If the new technique meets the intent of the success criterion, it is allowed, even if it's not a documented technique by the WCAG Working Group.

ARIA is not more prominently listed in the WCAG techniques because it is still an evolving technology and isn't official yet. The WCAG WG expects that the addition of ARIA techniques will be one of the major pieces of work for this year.

The catch in what I said above is that the ARIA technique is valid *if ARIA is accessibility supported*. That isn't something that is easily answered. Much of the testing work we will do with ARIA this year will help with that. But if you are testing your content in the browsers your target audience uses, and you determine that the ARIA techniques work in those browsers, then you have determined that ARIA is accessibility supported for your target audience.

Michael

Schnabel, Stefan wrote: 

Hi Rich, Michael,

 

is 

 

http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/H91 <http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/H91> 

 

absolutely NORMATIVE regarding Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) <http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-WCAG20-20081211/#ensure-compat-rsv> ?

 

For instance, do I violate WCAG 2.0 when I decide NOT to use a <select> statement for a combo in my application, 

and choose instead an input with an associated button and ARIA-Markup?

 

<strong>

 With other words, is applied ARIA an 1:1 alternative to http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/H91 <http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/H91> ?

</strong>

 

Anything else will lead to BIG discussions. This is a serious question. 

I think industry wants questions like these covered and clarified because you can easily derive legal implications from this.

 

In case you are NOT the right persons to ask: Who will that be?

 

Also, it would help if in the ARIA spec a respective clarification could be added.

 

Best Regards

Stefan

 

-- 

Michael Cooper
Web Accessibility Specialist
World Wide Web Consortium, Web Accessibility Initiative
E-mail cooper@w3.org <mailto:cooper@w3.org> 
Information Page <http://www.w3.org/People/cooper/>