Re: lynx-dev new tables idea for SoCR

[asgilman]

>     * Subject: Re: lynx-dev new tables idea for SoCR
>     * From: Heather Stern <address@hidden>
>     * Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 16:43:15 -0700 (PDT)
>     * In-Reply-To: <address@hidden> from "Larry W. Virden"
>       at "Jul 14, 1999 7: 0:23 pm"
>   
>Larry W. Virden wrote:
>> As long as this is only one of many ways of producing tables, it wouldn't
>> bother me for it to be there.
>>
>> One of the methods of outputing tables needs to keep the user who has
>> screen speaking software active so that tables are output in _some_ fashion
>> that makes sense when they are being read...  The trick is that this
>> _MAY_ need  to be dynamically switching from column first to row first,
>> since people insist on using html in manners not really in its first
>> nature.
>
>Ah, hopefully you have experience with them then.  Do you like method 1
>(deeper indents per column) or method 2 (some sort of "spliiter" tag shown
>at cell breaks, a special one at row ends) better for screen reading?
>In my admittedly untutored opinion, the first, since it leaves paragraphs
>as they sit, and doesn't introduce any fluff characters but spacing.  Your
>opinion?
>

Heather, I like the basic idea of a stair-step format in lieu of tabulation.

Tables-to-audio is a pretty hot topic.

The new Home Page Reader from IBM sets a high standard for making tables 
comprehensible in audio.  You might want to get one and get the idea of 
how it works.

As far as experience, I think I have more than Larry and I have just enough
to know I don't know enough.  By this I mean, put the page mockups in 
plain text files on the web somewhere and ask politely on address@hidden 
and maybe on the blinux list at redhat what people think of the options.  
I hope Lloyd will agree that is a good plan.

There is also some information on table transforms findable from 
http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/ -- I am not sure what shape that is in at the
moment.

Did you review the output of the table linearizing filter from Daniel 
Dardailler?  You should be able to find that starting at
http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/ . 

All of the formats you are talking about should (when the styles work is 
done) use style-settable indents, because Braille is extremely chary with
indents.  As in one character is given grudgingly.  The logic would work
fine but five or eight character indents would _destroy_ the acceptability
of the result for a Braille user.