Re: Properties applicable to root?

Thus spake Tantek Celik :

" >1. The root of an HTML document is the HTML element. The root element of an
" >XML document can be anything, but it's always present and unique by
" >definition.
" Seems reasonable to me.  Perhaps we need a new pseudo-class, :root, so that
" a style sheet does not have to depend on a particularly named tag being the
" "root" element.

Not sure how far this will get anybody - it's all those other element names
that will make cross-DTD stylesheet authoring tough.

" >2. The root element cannot accept most box properties. Its width is defined
" >as that of the rendering area (e.g. the window or page width).
" Why not have the width of the root element determine the width of the
" viewport?

That's what I meant by "window". Viewport.

I think that ability would be useful to authors attempting to
" fine tune the experience of their pages.  (Imagine enabling a 'kiosk' sort
" of thing with width:100% and height:100% on the root element)
" You could also use the 'overflow' property on the root element to determine
" whether or not scrollbars show up on the viewport.

Cool. And users can allow/disallow this sort of thing in personal sheets.
Now I see the point of :root.

" > It cannot
" >take either margin
"
" You just said that TOPMARGIN etc. were implemented due to author demand.
" And now you're saying that it should be de-implemented?

heh? My proposal has nothing to do with support for nonstandard attributes.
The utility of the attributes speaks to the need for more rigor in the
style-language successor.

" > or border properties
" Perhaps the border properties could apply to the border drawn on the
" viewport itself, for UAs and platforms that would support that.  Again, more
" author control over the presentation.

Perhaps. Kaleidoscope themes? <g> [Mac UI shareware reference]

" >It can also take color and font properties. It cannot float.
" You could interpret float within the context of the screen/viewing area.
" For example:
" HTML { float:left }
" could float the window to the left edge of the screen, similarly with
" float:right.  See below for why this would be useful.

Hm. I admire the comprehensiveness of the approach, but begin to be nervous
about the almost-certain aspect and resolution-dependencies that would
result from regarding the entirety of the display as the canvas, especially
as OS's can't reconcile pixels with useful "dynamic" typographical units
like em and ex.

" // stylesheet 1
" HTML { float: left; width: 50%; overflow:scroll }
"
" // stylesheet 2
" HTML { float: right; width: 50%; overflow:scroll }
"
" Thoughts?

Guarded interest. See above.
--
Todd Fahrner                    The printed page transcends space and time.
mailto:fahrner@pobox.com        The printed page, the infinitude of books,
http://www.verso.com/agitprop/  must be transcended. THE ELECTRO-LIBRARY.
                                                   - El Lissitzky, 1923

Received on Wednesday, 30 September 1998 18:59:59 UTC