Re: [css syntax] CSS Syntax and Semantic Classes

CSS Working Group,




With semantic classes, from either @class, @xhtml:role, @rdf:type, @rdfa:typeof or @epub:type , is the concept of parallel trees, parallel structure and that of elements participating in parallel trees.  That concept, known to the CSS experts in this group, selectors and selectors-related aspects of structure in XML documents, becomes enhanced with semantic classes.





XML schema, OWL ontology as well as collections of namespaces can be of use to API to distill and utilize parallel structure.  XPath and CSS selectors could traverse distilled substructure.




@namespace epub "http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops";
[epub|type=glossary] [epub|type=glossterm] { ... }




Envisioning that the EPUB structural vocabulary utilized XML namespaces, as per something syntactically resembling:




@namespace epub "http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops";
[epub|type=epub|glossary] [epub|type=epub|glossterm] { ... }




We can consider mappings on trees to select substructure upon which to then select:




@namespace epub "http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops";


@where [epub|type] select /epub|type/ {
  @namespace "http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops";
  glossary glossterm { ... }
}




and also possible, on the topic of parallel trees, combinatoric structure:





<ext:thing1 rdf:type="ext:thing2 ext1:thing3">


  <ext:thing1 rdf:type="ext:thing4 ext1:thing5">

    ...

  </ext:thing1>  

</ext:thing1>




syntax resembling:





@namespace rdf "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#";


@as [rdf|type] // a syntax for expressing a set algebra or a description logic upon the XML elements and the types in semantic attributes’ values, a mapping from a structure of XML elements to more complex structure

{

  // up to combinatoric structure with all three selectors matching the nested element:

  @namespace ext "...";

  thing1 > thing1 { ... }

  thing1 > thing4 { ... }

  thing2 > thing5 { ... }

}










Kind regards,




Adam Sobieski