[Gllug] Email Formats

[Paul Brazier]

> >>>Is there any real difference between <b>this<b> and *this*?
> >>Yes. The former is physical markup, the latter is logical markup.
> >Ok then, what about <em>this</em> and *this*?
> >Though I would argue that the distinction between physical 
> and logical
> >isn't so clear-cut in this case.
> 
> Well, it's not clear-cut at all, because they're both logical
> markup. Here the difference is that one requires machine
> interpretation and one does not.

Sorry, agreed, I was refering to my original case, I should have been
clearer.
Though I wouldn't say <em> *requires* machine interpretation, it's
fairly clear, at least to an English-speaker and definitely to someone
vaguely familiar with HTML (like me). In fact I remember when I first
came across the * notation I was thinking it was indicating a footnote
or something like asterisks do in printed text. Though admittedly I did
shortly pick up on it.

> >logical meaning. Maybe you could think of <b> to mean "to be spoken
> >boldly" of which "bold" text is one particular physical 
> interpretation. 
> 
> Maybe you could, but you'd be wrong; the W3C HTML 4.01 specification
> says "B: Renders as bold text style."

Hmm, I was wondering if that was the case. I thought the W3C were the
vanguard against the scourge of physical markup so I'd have thought they
would have defined <b> in a more logical way.

> >Do html speakers for the blind emphasise text in <b> </b> 
> markup in some
> >way?
> 
> Yes, but clearly they are forced to try and do the best they can with
> phyical markup.

So clearly also they've been let down by the W3C's restrictive
definition of <b>.

Actually, thinking about it, the difference between physical and logical
is more blurred. I reckon most people use physical markup in a logical
way. I don't think people think "this would look nice in bold, I'll use
a <b> tag". Rather they want to emphasise a passage for logical reasons
and the <b> tag is a good way of doing this (despite what the W3C say).

If you think about a well-designed newspaper, a lot of the layout (font
size, bold, italic, etc.) is for logical reasons - to draw the reader's
eye to certain bits first or to enable someone to quickly scan
subheadings or whatever. Though some magazines do use colour etc.
gratuitously which doesn't add to or enhance the content.


**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the originator.

This footnote also confirms that this email message has been checked
for the presence of computer viruses.

**********************************************************************


-- 
Gllug mailing list  -  Gllug at linux.co.uk
http://list.ftech.net/mailman/listinfo/gllug