Re: [Media Queries] aspect ratio

Håkon Wium Lie:
> First, it is argued that the aspect ration of the device isn't that  
> interesting, one should (instead/also) query the aspect ratio of  
> the window.

I cannot think of one, but I assume there are valid use cases for  
'device-aspect-ratio' as well, so probably both should be there.

If I recall correctly the CSS term is "viewport", not "window".  
Doesn't the latter include the chrome, which usually consumes more  
space vertically? OTOH, is the viewport of print-outs the printable  
area or the physical size of the sheets? (All this is probably aready  
defined properly somewhere, but I'm too lazy and busy to find it  
right now.)

> Second, it has been argued that the most common use case for aspect- 
> ratio is to find out whether the window is in portrait or landscape  
> mode. If this is the case, the code could be made more intuitive by  
> adding keywords. For example:
>
>   @media screen and (aspect-ratio: portrait)
>   @media screen and (aspect-ratio: landscape)

I believe this is the most systematic and therefore preferable approach.

> What kind of queries do people want to write? What kind of media  
> features and values are needed to express those queries?

I could also think of these keywords for irrational values with  
specified uncertainty: 'golden' (= 0.5 + sqrt(1.25) ~= 1.618),  
'silver' (= 1 + sqrt(2) ~= 2.414, or =), 'sqrt2' (e.g. ISO paper) and  
an 'inverse' suffix or prefix or the possibility to write "1/sqrt2".

Will there be some way to enter square roots using 'calc()'? <http:// 
www.w3.org/TR/css3-values/#calc> -- I just realised that by the  
current draft it is not possible to set 'device-aspect-ratio' to a  
floating point number, which is the preferred style for aspect ratios  
in some areas and therefore would be expected intuitively by some  
users. (I know that integer-only calculations are preferable and that  
"1.85", for instance, can be expressed as "185/100" or "37/20" already.)

I think further keywords for values that can be expressed already,  
like 'wide' or 'widescreen' for |16/9| or 'scope' for |235/100|,  
would be counterproductive.

Received on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 21:19:05 UTC