Deprecating DOMActivate Event

Hi, CSS WG-

This is a liaison from the WebApps WG to alert the CSS WG that, after 
group discussion and consultation with the WAI Protocols and Formats WG, 
we are considering deprecating the 'DOMActivate' event type in favor of 
the 'click' event type.

Functionally, the 'click' event type has been adapted by UAs to have an 
equivalent effect to 'DOMActivate' as originally specified; the 
implementation landscape of 'DOMActivate' indicates that there is little 
interoperable content that relies upon 'DOMActivate'; deprecating 
'DOMActivate' and advising content authors to use 'click' instead for 
accessible code is expected to improve accessibility through 
simplification and clarity.  "Click" has become synonymous with 
"activate" in ordinary speech as well, making this a clearer concept to 
convey.  Deprecation of 'DOMActivate' will also allow UAs to simplify 
and optimize their code significantly, making for better maintainability 
and increased performance, which is critical for responsive accessibility.

During a joint telcon between the PFWG and WebApps WG, all these 
benefits were recognized by the PFWG in attendance, and pending a 
broader review by their community over the next two weeks, we will move 
ahead with this decision.

A potential issue was raised in the telcon regarding the effect, if any, 
of the deprecation of 'DOMActivate' upon the CSS ':active' pseudo-class. 
  After examination in the DOM3 Events telcon by the browser vendors, it 
was determined that 'DOMActivate' and ':active' are orthogonal concepts, 
with different code paths, and that there should be no effect.  This is 
a courtesy liaison to give the CSS WG an opportunity to concur or to 
provide new information that might be relevant.  If we don't hear back 
within two weeks, we will assume that the CSS WG has no objections to 
the deprecation of the 'DOMActivate' event type.

Regards-
-Doug Schepers
W3C Team Contact, SVG and WebApps WGs

Received on Wednesday, 13 January 2010 20:13:02 UTC