Re: HTML3 <OL inherit> gone for good?

Lee wrote:
> [I don't know whoe wrote this, sorry]
It was me

> >> This is important. If the original document refers to "the problem with
> >> option d" the relevant list should be numbered a b c d e not 1 2 3 4 5 

> An SGMLer might say that the right way to code this is something like
> 
> 	See item <Xref see=L3d> for details
> 
> and
> 	<NumberedList>
> 	    <Item id=L3a>the first item</Item>
> 	    <Item id=L3b>the first item</Item>
> 	    <Item>an item I didn't bother to name</Item>
> 	    <Item id=L3d>the special item</Item>
> 	</NumberedList>
> 
> (I don't care about the actual tags, use OL and LI if you like).

OK, great. Cross references, fine. If that were do-able I would withdraw all 
my objections to the removal of the ol attributes.

> However, even with a point-at-the-list-item-and-click-your-heels-together
> interface, some (most?) authors will write
> 	See item d on the next screen for details.
> 	Click on this underlined text to go there now.

Yes, I know what you mean. Your position is that the numbering was a rendering
thing and browser dependent, like "click on the blue text" ;-)

I was saying that the numbering was content not rendering becuase of the problem
of referencing from other parts of the document.

> However, since there is no XRef tag (this is not quite the same as the HTML
> A element type, but more like a Pinnacles reflection, for any semiconductor
> people out there, as it inserts content taken from elsewhere), we can't
> blame authors for not using it, 

indeed

> and for relying on presentation to convey meaning in this way.

Fine. I will go with this proposal. I would normally use internal variables 
and cross references when constructing, say, a FrameMaker document; I am 
quite happy for HTML 3.0 to use a similar mechanism.

--
Chris Lilley
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Received on Monday, 13 March 1995 10:05:43 UTC