

Re: two failings of XLink

From: Norman Walsh <Norman.Walsh@Sun.COM>
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 15:59:56 -0400
To: www-tag@w3.org
Message-ID: <87elbffbk3.fsf@nwalsh.com>

Hash: SHA1

| Hi Norm,

Hi Jeni,

|> But I can look at it in at least two other ways:
|> 1. The src attribute is an xlink:href. The longdesc attribute is a URI that
|>    points to some additional description. Not every URI has to have the
|>    semantic of xlink:href.
| I agree that not every URI has to have the semantic of xlink:href
| ('codebase' on the <object> element is an example in XHTML2), but I
| think that if they indicate resources that are linked together, such
| that (for example) clicking on an image should take you to the long
| description, then I think that this can be classed as a hyperlink, and
| that therefore it should be expressible using XLink.

Fair enough. I think Tim's explanation of the problems with longdesc
as an attribute are more robust than my own.

|> 2. The longdesc attribute is itself an artifact of design constraints that
|>    were pragmatic rather than technically necessary. An alternative form
|>    of the link:
|>      <img src="someURI">
|>        <longdesc>
|>          <p>The long description of the link</p>
|>        </longdesc>
|>      </img>
|>    would have a number of advantages. The least of which being that XLink
|>    would suffice for the link attributes in this design.
| Perhaps a different example would be more useful:
|   <object archive="archive.jar,anotherArchive.jar"
|           classid="java:Class"
|           data="data.xml">
|     The applet failed to load, sorry!
|   </object>

I have to say that an applet like this seems like a really good
example of something that isn't the sort of thing I'd point to with an
XLink. That just doesn't smell like a hypertext reference to me.

                                        Be seeing you,

- -- 
Norman.Walsh@Sun.COM    | Truth lies within a little uncertain compass,
XML Standards Architect | but error is immense.
Sun Microsystems, Inc.  | 
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Received on Friday, 27 September 2002 16:00:38 GMT
