Wish List, pointers [was: HTML 3.2 PR]

John Edward Luke wrote:
> 
> I suggest the following revisions for HTML:

[We're in serious need of a weekly posting about
how this list works. Any volunteers?]

The HTML 3.2 call for review was not a solicitation
for new features. So I changed the subject line
to 'wish list'.

All these ideas have been discussed before. If the archive
services worked better, I'd scold you for not finding
the old discussions. As it is, I can only re-hash the
discussions in short form and provide links.

Detailed
proposals and implementation experience are welcome.
But sending a wish-lists to this forum is ...
well ... of limited value.

But I wonder if folks are aware of the documentation
that's out there? Lots of people complain that stuff
is hard to find. So I'll point the way this time.

> 1. Have a date function to show the browser exactly what date and time they are viewing the page

Hmmm... you mean in stead of a wristwatch? I'm not sure I follow.

But I do think it might be useful to be able to refer to HTTP header
values from HTML, as in:

	200 OK
	Content-Type: text/html
	Date: Tue, 3 Jan 94 12:34:10 EST
	Last-Modified: Mon, 2 Jan 94 10:23:43 EST

	<!doctype html>
	<title>...</title>

	...
	<address>
	Last Modified: <envelope field=last-modified>
	</address>

(I wrote about this in an earlier message. Oh for reasonable
archive services! I think it's on my home page[1] too.)

[1] http://www.w3.org/People/Connolly

> 2. Provide a right justify capability without having to use a table

As a previous poster wrote, stylesheets[1] and ALIGN=right[2] have been
proposed any number of times. It's a deployment and standardization
issue. Write to your congressman/implementor.

[2] http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Style/
[3] http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/PR-html32-961105.html#headings

> 3. Provide for pagination controls in output (where will page breaks occur, of course this depends but the <P></P> pagagraph markers are a good start).

That's a chartered activity these days. See Web Printing Extensions[4]

[4] http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Style/Activity

> 4. Provide an easy method for assigning passwords to pages.

In HTML? Hmm... I can imagine some <meta http-equiv> hack for that.
But ... I don't think I like it much.

But this is really a question of server administration[5], [6].

[5] http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Daemon/User/Config/AccessAuth.html
[6] http://www.apache.org/docs/mod/mod_auth.html

> 5. Incorporate the <MARQUEE></MARQUEE> tag

Obviated by the <object> tag[7]

[7] http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/WD-object

> 6. Create a parser for HTML and stop worrying about incorporating SGML.

I don't think I understand what you're saying.

But I have written a tech report about
HTML parsing[8].

[8] http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/WD-sgml-lex/

> 7. Allow users to substitute the bullet in <UL> by adding a specification <UL img src=3D"bullet.jpg"> rather than having to use the image command on every line.

This was proposed in HTML+[9].

[9] http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/MarkUp/HTMLPlus/htmlplus_32.html

But HTML+ was only a draft, and was never ratified.

This feature is expressible in CSS-1[10], which is now a W3C
Recommendation.

[10] http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/REC-CSS1-961217#list-style-image

> 8. Allow music to play even after switching pages and put a button on the browser to allow the user to control its playing or stopping.

Again, see WD-object[7].

Regular old links (<a> or <link>) can be used for this sort of thing
as well, ala:

	<link href="foo.snd" rel=present>
or
	<a href="foo.snd" rel="present">some sound</a>

if anybody would care to implement that.

> 9. Provide an easy inclusion to log access locations and persons.

I don't understand this suggestion at all.

> 10. Reinstate the <HTML Version =3D "3.2"> tag along with the doctype for compatibility and identification of source.

Compatibility with what? I don't think I understandt this suggestion
either.

-- 
Daniel W. Connolly       We believe in the interconnectedness of all
things"
W3C Architecture Area Lead     PGP: EDF8 A8E4 F3BB 0F3C  FD1B 7BE0 716C
FF21 
<connolly@w3.org>                        
http://www.w3.org/People/Connolly/

Received on Monday, 13 January 1997 02:38:11 UTC