RE: syntax of rect()

In fact, I proposed making this an errata to CSS2, since we implemented
clipping rects in IE according to the CSS-Positioning draft (the meaning of
the rect() function was changed in its transit into the CSS2 specification).
As this is a heavily-used feature, and the change to CSS2 behavior is
catastrophic, we can't ever change our behavior in IE.

What do people on this list think of making this an errata?  Is there any
other software out there that has shipped according to the CSS2
specification?

-Chris Wilson

-----Original Message-----
From: L. David Baron [mailto:dbaron@fas.harvard.edu]
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 1999 11:01 AM
To: www-style@w3.org
Subject: Re: syntax of rect()


On Thu, 24 Jun 1999 22:54:48 +0200 (MET DST), a long time ago, Bert Bos
(Bert.Bos@sophia.inria.fr) wrote:
> However, the 'clip' property is at the moment almost unusable for
> another reason, and that is that both MSIE and NS interpret right and
> bottom in the opposite way from the spec: for them rect(0,0,0,0) means
> completely invisible, while rect(0,100%,100%,0) is completely visible.
> The spec has exactly the opposite. Some people claim that it is easier
> to write scripts this way. It might become an erratum.

Officially changing that sounds like a good idea.  However, if that is
done, perhaps there should be a second value for the clip property,
perhaps called edges() or sides(), that has the same meaning that
rect() did in the original CSS2 definition.  This would be more useful
when the author doesn't know the size of the element and wants units
other than percentage units.

David

L. David Baron     Rising Sophomore, Harvard     dbaron@fas.harvard.edu
Links, SatPix, CSS, etc.        < http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~dbaron/ >
Summer Intern, Netscape - however, opinions are entirely my own, etc.

Received on Thursday, 8 July 1999 14:49:18 UTC