[css3-grid-layout] Feedback on the auto-placement algorithm

Hi everyone,

here are some comments about the current algorithm / wording of the
specification.

Bugs in the algorithm (section 6.3.1):
* Step 3 (resetting the cursor to (1, 1)) should be run inside step
4's loop or else you end up reusing the position from a previous step
with surprising effects. Also the current wording prevents the grid
from being compact which is what we want.
* The algorithm doesn't mention column / row spans nor can the current
algorithm be easily extended to this case: column / row span violates
the current assumption that step 4 is done with a constant minor axis'
count.

Editorial comment:
* Section "6.3. Automatic Placement: the ‘grid-auto-flow’ property",
explains the algorithm in plain English that is also defined in
"6.3.1. Automatic Grid Item Placement Algorithm". Section 6.3 is more
verbose but I did find the explanations more confusing than a
point-by-point explanation (but maybe it's just me).
* Section 6.3.1, step 1. Unless I am missing something, we would like
to place grid items with major and minor axis positions that are not
'auto' first. This would ensure consistent placing regardless of where
those items are in the tree. The wording doesn't make that totally
obvious and splitting this case into a step 0 would make it more
obvious.

Thanks,
Julien

Received on Wednesday, 20 February 2013 02:33:57 UTC