[css3-layout] new WD Template Layout

As promised, the CSS WG published an update of the draft previously 
called "Advanced Layout."

    http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-css3-layout-20090402

The WG is planning to spend some face-to-face time in June discussing 
the various requirements and proposals for "page grids" (although they 
can in fact also be local grids attached to individual elements). The 
goal is to separate the requirements and non-requirements, find the 
simplest model and syntax that captures the former, and reduce the 
number of separate drafts. (Maybe grid coordinates, templates and 
absolute positioning can all fit in one module?)

Comments are thus very welcome (as always, of course :-) ) and if you 
send some, please send them to this mailing list, <www-style@w3.org>, 
and prefix the subject line with

    [css-layout]

as I did on this message.


The most important changes since the previous draft are the following:

1) The name was changed from Advanced Layout to Template Layout, because 
it may be advanced relative to what exists now, but who knows what else 
we decide to add to level 3: alphabetically sorted lists? 
constraint-based layouts? hyperlinks displayed as infinite zoom? 
automatic signatures (8-up double-sided sheets) for books?

2) The section on deck-of-cards layout (tabbed layout) was removed. That 
is an important kind of layout, too, but a different subject and at the 
moment it seems there are fewer people spending time on it than on page 
grids.

3) The row and column layouts are also dropped. We'll see in June if the 
requirements that led to them are met (or could be met) by template 
layout or grid coordinates. (They were meant for spacing out the 
controls in GUI dialog boxes without changing their order.) If not, 
they may come back as a separate module.

4) In relation with some features that are going to be introduced in the 
Box model, there is now an explicit choice among three kinds of 
intrinsic size for slots in the template: 'max-content', 'min-content' 
and 'fit-content'. There is also a way for slots to have minimum and 
maximum sizes.

5) An option to add one or more algorithms for distributing excess 
space, (i.e., when the containing block is wider than the template's 
intrinsic size, often referred to as "flex") is mentioned, but not 
defined. This option may in fact be needed to properly space GUI 
elements (see 3 above).

6) The Acknowledgments section has been updated to include people who 
helped a lot recently with prototypes, examples, etc., including Andy 
Clarke, Jina Bolton, César Acebal and Andrew Fedoniouk.



Bert
-- 
  Bert Bos                                ( W 3 C ) http://www.w3.org/
  http://www.w3.org/people/bos                               W3C/ERCIM
  bert@w3.org                             2004 Rt des Lucioles / BP 93
  +33 (0)4 92 38 76 92            06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France

Received on Friday, 3 April 2009 12:29:40 UTC