> We currently have the TABLE tag and its enclosed elements, which
> allow us to create a table of data, something like this (for
> example):
[snip]
> We take the basic TABLE spec, as is, and add an attribute to the
> main TABLE tag, the CHART element. If present, it would define a
> type of chart, and the browser would take the following table data
> and attempt to convert it into a graph. For example, to create the
> above, I might use <TABLE BORDER CHART=bar>. We could define a
> couple basics, say bar,line, pie and chart. Everything else
> (including 2D vs. 3D) could bedone via style sheets. Well, actually,
> charts could be done viastyle sheets entirely too, but I think that
> HTML needs to stand onits own without them, and this would be a good
> feature to add directly to the spec.
[snip]
Here's my two-penneth contribution towards this one :-)
In the HTML document
<TABLE CLASS="ChartFormat1">
<CAPTION>
Descriptive text about what this data represents
</CAPTION>
<TR CLASS="DataHead">
<TH>Object Name</TD>
<TH>Width (meters)</TD>
<TH>Height (meters)</TD>
<TH>Breadth (meters)</TD>
</TR>
<TR CLASS="Set1">
<TH>Blue Cube</TH>
<TD>10</TD>
<TD>7</TD>
<TD>9</TD>
</TR>
<TR CLASS="Set2">
<TH>Black Cube</TH>
<TD>5</TD>
<TD>9</TD>
<TD>16</TD>
</TR>
<TR CLASS="Set3">
<TH>Mauve Cube</TH>
<TD>9</TD>
<TD>18</TD>
<TD>23</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
Then, in your style sheet ...
Table.ChartFormat1 : renderstyle.type = 2dbar
Table.ChartFormat1 : data.header = DataHead
Table.ChartFormat1 : data.sets = Set1, Set2, Set3
The rest can be inferred by the location of the TH header elements
within each Row.
This is slightly basic; it could probably be extended to include
styles for functions such as the visual "angle" or tilt of a 3d
chart, exploding portions of a pie chart, i.e
Table.ChartFormat : renderstyle.type = 3dpie
Table.ChartFormat : renderstyle.angle = 30
Table.ChartFormat : renderstyle.thickness = 10
Table.ChartFormat : data.header = dataHeaderClass
Table.ChartFormat : data.sets = Set1
TD.ExplodeThisEntry : datasetstyle.type = exploded
TD.ExplodeThisEntry : datasetstyle.size = 10
Why do I think this should be entirely left up to the Style Sheet
mechanisms, with no attributes added to the table element? What the
table element represents, in this case, is a collection of data. At
present, this data is rendered (or presented) in the form of a table,
constructed using Rows, and Cells within those Rows, using the <td>,
table data, element or <th>, table header, element. The precise
rendering of that data is really not a content issue, which the HTML
markup describes, but a presentation issue, which should be managed
not in the markup, but in style sheets.
> Comments?
Anyone else have any?
Regards,
Chris
-- Chris Tilbury, Estates Office, University of Warwick, UK, CV4 7AL Tel: +44 1203 523523 x2665 Fax: +44 1203 524444 MIME mail welcomed mailto:Chris.Tilbury@estate.warwick.ac.uk