SVG 1.2 Comment: <xa> not generally useful

The extended link element doesn't seem to a feature that will be
generally useful to content developers.  As I read the
specification, the menu generated by <xa> should be stylable and
transformable.  This means it can't be drawn with native widgets.

The look of the menu isn't specified, which means authors don't
know if it will look native or be some foreign svg displayed.

If a native look&feel was specified, it would need to be faked by
the implementation in some fashion that can be styled and
transformed.  Coming from a mozilla background where we try to
fake just normal bitmapped 2D widget look and behavior, it's very
hard to do this in a fashion that satisfies people.

If not restricted to native look&feel, the appearance of <xa>
menus will probably vary quite a bit between implementations.
Additionally, the control provided by style and transform would
likely not be enough to allow the author to match the look to the
rest of their content.

I feel <xa>-like functionality should be left to an authoring
toolkit.  If it must stay in, remove the stylable/transformable
ability and specify that it should appear native.

Received on Monday, 15 November 2004 21:10:32 UTC