Re: Deploying (accessible) XForms today?

Allan,

I don't see why server-side XForms processing should loose accessibility 
in contrast to client-side processing. You can have non-accessible pages 
requiring client-side XForms processing just as perfectly accessible 
server-generated pages.

In fact this is what Chiba does. It attempts to generate as clean and 
conformant HTML 4.01 + CSS 2 pages as possible. When the client supports 
Javascript, Chiba automatically delivers AJAX-powered pages to improve 
the user experience. Of course there are still some quirks in but we try 
to approach 100% HTML 4.01 Strict conformance some day. The use of AJAX 
(or Partial Page Updates or XML Data Islands as this technique had been 
called when we started to explore it) is simply a means to an end.

Like Erik I'm no accessibility expert but as far as I understand 
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-HTML-TECHS and related specs scripting is 
not generally considered harmful for accessibility. There are a bunch of 
rules regarding the markup itself and the use of scripting. I'm 
convinced that it is achievable to create scripted pages aligning to 
accessibility rules.

Generally speaking I think server-side processing provides a way for 
*more and better* accessibility since the server can potentially adapt 
its output to the client's capabilities and requisites. Taking into 
account that XForms is more or less device-agnostic, server-side 
processing allows to spread XForms even to devices that never have heard 
of it (and probably never will) - today, and in an accessible manner.

Regards,
Uli.

PS: Thanks to Leigh for pointing out what's possible with Chiba.

Allan Beaufour wrote:
> 
> Since not everybody is using a browser with XForms capabilities, if
> you want to deploy XForms today, server-side transformations might be
> needed. But how about accessibility? I fear that you loose that then?
> 
> /me steps aside and hopes for some good answers from the server-side 
> crowd :)
> 
> -- 
> ... Allan
> 
> 

-- 
Ulrich Nicolas Lissé

Received on Tuesday, 9 May 2006 14:57:05 UTC