Re: @longdesc implemented as ARIA construct

Leif Halvard Silli, Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:06:22 +0200:
> Dear WAI-XTECH listees! Is this the right place to propose changes to 
> ARIA?
  ... snip ...
> Basically, the @longdesc use case can be described as "ability to place 
> a link inside an image" - which is something that HTML4 allows, despite 
> that it hasn't worked so well as intended. Thus ARIA has had every 
> reason to include that opportunity in its role="img" model.  Let me 
> present some examples showing the (lack of) possibilities, in ARIA today
  ... snip ...
> Conclusion: As it stands ARIA has not been designed to cope with the 
> @longdesc pattern - ARIA does not allow authors to place a link inside 
> an element with role=img. I would suggest that ARIA is changed so that 
> example 1 (or 2a/2b) somehow could be made to work. (Example 3 stands 
> out as mor of a hack.) 
> 
> The change that is needed would involve making sure that it is possible 
> to avoid that a link within a role="img" element is treated as 
> presentational children. [*] It should also be possible to have the lin 
> work even if it has display:none.

The condition which would make the link visible to AT, could simply be 
that the link has rel='longdesc' set:

> (I have also previously suggested 
> that rel="longdesc" (<a rel="longdesc" href="*"></a>) could be used to 
> make clear that the link is a longdesc link, even when it is lacking 
> link text.)

I am ready to file a bug about this: ARIA should operate with a model 
of role='img' that corresponds to how <img> works in HTML.
-- 
leif halvard silli

Received on Wednesday, 15 September 2010 15:17:59 UTC