Re: <selectOne> and checkboxGroup ?

Greetings, you are discussing two distinct widgets from HTML.

Radio - is intended to allow a user choose one from many, i.e. 1 from n.
Most HTML browsers that I'm familiar with allow an initial condition
whereby zero are selected but do not allow the user to return to this
condition once a selection has been made - very nasty from a users
perspective.
So it might be argued that radio may offer zero or one from many.

checkbox - is intended to allow the select of 0-n from n.

The general solution to what you are discussing is to provide a facility
whereby the range of acceptable selections which may be chosen from a set
could be specified. In your Pizza example you might offer 12 topping but
specify a minimum of one and a maximum of three to be chosen.

However, this should not be specified in the UI but as a constraint in the
data that the UI widget is bound to.

Regards, Roland
Ease of Use Strategy
Tel: +44 (0)1926-465440,   Fax: +44 (0)1926-410764, Mobile:  +44
(0)773-0300-937
Internet: Roland_Merrick@uk.ibm.com
Ease of Use:     http://www.ibm.com/easy/           http://w3.ibm.com/easy/


AndrewWatt2001@aol.com on 12/07/2001 16:18:20

Please respond to AndrewWatt2001@aol.com

To:   www-forms@w3.org
cc:   joern.turner@web.de
Subject:  Re: <selectOne> and checkboxGroup ?




In a message dated 12/07/01 13:17:04 GMT Daylight Time, joern.turner@web.de
writes:


> IMHO the same as with <selectMany> and radiogroup applies to <selectOne>
> and checkboxGroup. Though it may be possible to display this in most
> UI-toolkits, it is normally not assured by the toolkit that only one
> entry may be selected by the user.
>
> in my understanding radiobuttons are defined to allow only one selection
> while checkboxes allow the selection of one (but not strictly one) or
> many values. This is expressed by their different appearence and there
> would be no reason to have both types without that distinction.
>
Joern,

I think you are correct. As soon as I saw the title of your post I realised
that I had overlooked that yesterday.

In many settings the checkbox goes along with the equivalent of <
selectOneOrMany> which, at least for the moment, XForms doesn't offer. If
there is to be a <selectOne> element then I would agree with you that a
checkboxGroup seems inappropriate.

I seriously wonder if there is a need in XForms for a <selectOneOrMany>
element. The example which comes instantly to mind .... I couldn't think of
anything more "profound" :) ... is a form for an online pizza shop, where
the
offer might be for one, two or three (say) toppings.

Or an online submarine sandwich shop where you could have as many
contents/dressings as you are prepared to pay for.

I appreciate that similar functionality could be provided by a series of
radio buttons ... oops I mean <selectOne> elements :) ... but the <
selectOneOrMany> functionality is present as a routine in HTML forms (via
checkboxes), and it seems to me that XForms, as currently drafted, may
inadvertently be removing that tried and tested functionality.

Andrew Watt

Received on Friday, 13 July 2001 09:39:11 UTC