SWITCH is an imprecise tool for offering alternatives.

(Apologies for partial post...)

Hi,

In SVG, we have the switch element for offering alternative content e.g.

<switch>
  <text systemLanguage="en">Yes</text>
  <text systemLanguage="de">Ja</text>
</switch>

This is very useful, but it's not very flexible, and can't contain the
sort of semantics that I'm interested in, it fails particularly where the
user is fluent in German, but also can understand a bit of English (so
would rather get English than nothing, but German is best.)  to have
this, we really need to be able to show the quality of the different
types, in the above the German and English are of identical quality, but
it's easy to imagine a situation where one language is much better
quality than the other.

At the HTTP content-negotation level, this is nicely handled by q values,
and I think that the switch mechanism could easily be extended to use the
same.  (not just language but all different switch.)  This will have the
advantage that users can really get to the content which they prefer
rather than leaving it wholly in the hands of the author which is shown.

Jim.

Received on Monday, 28 October 2002 13:54:26 UTC