Inline formatting document model - misleading/wrong equalities?

The "Inline formatting model" at http://meyerweb.com/eric/css/inline-format.html
starts out by saying:

     * em-box = font-size = content-area

That seems to have several problems:

1.  The font size is a one-dimensional quantity.  The content area is
     two dimensional (whether you mean the content-area box or the
     area of the content-area box).

     Shouldn't the last term be something like "content-area height"?

2.  Similarly, isn't the em-box a two-dimensional item, and shouldn't
     the first term be "em-box height" (or just "em")?

     (I'm assuming that "em-box" refers to a 1-em by 1-em square.  If
     "em-box" really refers to just the linear distance of 1 em, then
     never mind.)

3.  Shouldn't it specify that it's talking about the content areas
     of inline boxes or line boxes only, and not that content areas of
     block boxes?

     (Yes, the document's scope is limited to the inline formatting
     model, but doesn't that model involve the block boxes into which
     line boxes are places (and whose height is affected by the
     inline formatting)?)


Similarly, re

     * content-area + (half-)leading = inline box

shouldn't "content-area" be something like "content-area height" and
shouldn't "inline box" be something like "inline box height"?

Finally, the third equality line:

     * inline box(min/max) = line-box

should be something like:

     * inline box min/max height = line-box height

shouldn't it?


(The note at the top of the document reminds the user to pay close
attention to avoid misunderstanding.  Even if the document is not a
tutorial and doesn't explain everything, it still shouldn't make
inaccurate statements.)


Daniel

Received on Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:10:28 UTC