XML News from Thursday, March 11, 2004

The W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group has posted the fourth public working draft of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. Quoting from the introduction:

This document outlines design principles for creating accessible Web content. When these principles are ignored, individuals with disabilities may not be able to access the content at all, or they may be able to do so only with great difficulty. When these principles are employed, they also make Web content accessible to a variety of Web-enabled devices, such as phones, handheld devices, kiosks, network appliances. By making content accessible to a variety of devices, that content will also be accessible to people in a variety of situations.

The design principles in this document represent broad concepts that apply to all Web-based content. They are not specific to HTML, XML, or any other technology. This approach was taken so that the design principles could be applied to a variety of situations and technologies, including those that do not yet exist.

The table of contents provides a vary nice summary of the guidelines:

• Principle 1: Content must be perceivable.
  • Guideline 1.1 For non-text content, provide text equivalents that serve the same purpose or convey the same information as the non-text content, except when the sole purpose of the non-text content is to create a specific sensory experience (for example, music and visual art) in which case a text label or description is sufficient.
  • Guideline 1.2 Provide synchronized media equivalents for time-dependent presentations.
  • Guideline 1.3 Ensure that information, functionality, and structure are separable from presentation.
  • Guideline 1.4 In visual presentations, make it easy to distinguish foreground words and images from the background.
  • Guideline 1.5 In auditory presentations, make it easy to distinguish foreground speech and sounds from background sounds. [level 2 guideline]
• Principle 2: Interface elements in the content must be operable.
  • Guideline 2.1 Make all functionality operable via a keyboard or a keyboard interface.
  • Guideline 2.2 Allow users to control time limits on their reading or interaction unless specific real-time events or rules of competition make such control impossible.
  • Guideline 2.3 Allow users to avoid content that could cause photosensitive epileptic seizures.
  • Guideline 2.4 Facilitate the ability of users to orient themselves and move within the content. [level 2 guideline]
  • Guideline 2.5 Help users avoid mistakes and make it easy to correct them. [level 2 guideline]
• Principle 3: Content and controls must be understandable.
  • Guideline 3.1 Ensure that the meaning of content can be determined.
  • Guideline 3.2 Organize content consistently from "page to page" and make interactive components behave in predictable ways.
• Principle 4: Content must be robust enough to work with current and future technologies.
  • Guideline 4.1 Use technologies according to specification.
  • Guideline 4.2 Ensure that user interfaces are accessible or provide an accessible alternative(s)