Re: DOM3 Events Specification: keyboard navigation

On Sat, 2004-12-04 at 09:26 +0000, Jonathan Chetwynd wrote:
> Document Object Model (DOM) Level 3 Events Specification*
> 
> Is there a particular reason this document does not comment on keyboard 
> navigation and the use of the "tab, space, return, backspace, arrow" 
> keys in particular?

As Joe already mentioned, the document only addresses the DOM API (as
well as the DOM event model), i.e. it is out of scope for the document
to indicate the functions that can be associated with a specific key. 

> The disabled community has had some years experience developing 
> applications that have somewhat standardised the use of the "tab, 
> space, return, backspace, arrow" keys for navigation.
> 
> I'm concerned partly because I do not understand the whole problem, but 
> also because SVG is failing to recommend any means of keyboard 
> navigation. It is being asserted that no keyboard event implementation 
> is better than a non-standard implementation. The result is that 
> significant quantity of product is being authored, without any prospect 
> of it being keyboard navigable by anyone.

The WAI UA Guidelines 1.0 [1] does not directly mention keyboard
navigation but provides some hints in terms of following the platform
convention (checkpoints 7.2 & 7.3). I suggest sending your comment
regarding keyborad navigation to this WG (w3c-wai-ua@w3.org)

Philippe

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/UAAG10/guidelines.html#tech-os-conventions