Re: Where are we Headed? (was lynx-dev The Lynx TODO list )

[John Bley]

On Sat, 1 May 1999, David Woolley wrote:

> XML is often misunderstood.  It is an enabling technology for structured
> documents.  Like HTML is is a derivative of SGML, but unlike HTML, there
> is no fixed set of tags, except for two or three core ones.  It is
> intended as a simplified alternative to SGML, which doesn't require
> a DTD to enable it to be parsed.
Fortunately, there is a good open-source XML parsing system available 
named expat.   Mozilla is using it now.  Knowing absolutely nothing about 
lynx's parsing subsystem, I can't imagine it'd be *too* difficult to 
actually incorporate the parser into lynx.  Hooking the parser up to 
actual effects, of course, requires work.

> Generally though, most web users will see a few specific applications of XML,
> and it those applications they will be interested in not the general
> capabilities.  There is MathML, a language for mathematical formulae and
> there are probably solid modelling 'MLs, and there is work on a vector
> graphics one.
This last one is of particular interest to lynx.  SVG (Scalable Vector 
Graphics) is being worked on by the w3c.  It is essentially a structured 
text description of how to draw the image.  It includes what are 
essentially "alt" tags for two different levels: one for the image as a 
whole, and ones for different portions of the image at the author's 
discretion.  I doubt *too* many people will bother with these alt-type 
tags, but even so, it provides advantages for lynx: any text drawn into 
the image is still text, and the structured graphics description could allow 
for it to be "described" automatically.  For instance, click on the image 
and it generates a paragraph like "There is a circle.  Inside the circle 
is the text 'Foo.'  Below the circle is a square.  Inside the square is the 
text 'Bar.'"  Obviously, this wouldn't be too scalable for complex things, 
but for company logos and those obnoxious "word" button-images, it'd be 
great for lynx users (and the blind).

SVG is probably a year away from being standardized, which means it'll 
probably be two years before either browser supports it.  There's a 
recent draft at www.w3c.org somewhere.

> There seem no signs that anyone has the resources to spare to implement 
> CSS; have you?
In which specification are fixed-position entities described?  They're 
meant as a "toolbar" substitute for frames, and would be pretty damn 
handy to get right in lynx.


-- 
John Bley - address@hidden
Duke '99 - English/Computer Science
  Since English is a mess, it maps well onto the problem space,
  which is also a mess, which we call reality.     - Larry Wall