This charter is written in accordance with section 3.2.3 of the W3C Process.
To develop W3C specifications for the next generation of Web forms The key idea is to separate the user interface and presentation from the data model and logic, allowing the same form to be used on a wide variety of devices such as voice browsers, handhelds, desktops and even paper. XForms brings the benefits of XML to Web forms, transferring form data as XML. XForms aims to reduce the need for scripting, and to make it easier to achieve the desired layout of form fields without having to resort to using nested tables etc.
Work on XForms is restricted to fulfilling the requirements for the next generation of Web forms, as set out in the XForms Requirements document. The scope includes liaison with other related W3C groups and activities, as described below, e.g. to ensure that XForms meets W3C goals for accessibility and internationalization, and to show how XForms can be effectively integrated with other W3C namespaces.
The success of the XForms working group will be judged on how well it fulfills the requirements in terms of the deliverables and milestones set out below. Of particular note, is the need to ensure that the new approach to forms is consistent and easily integrated with W3C's approach to the protection of personal information collected by forms.
This group is planned to last for 18 months, following its approval by W3C members. The working group is therefore likely to commence in June 2000 and terminate in December 2001.
In the following, the terms: Note, Working Draft, Candidate Recommendation, and Proposed Recommendation are defined in the W3C Process.
Minutes of telephone conferences and face to face meetings
Proposed Recommendation for the XForms Data Model.
Proposed Recommendation for the XForms Submit Protocol. This defines how the XForms submit, suspend and resume semantics are implemented in terms of some XML RPC mechanisms layered on top of HTTP 1.1.
Proposed Recommendation for the XForms User Interface.
An investigation into the requirements for an XForms DOM. The plan is to obsolete the current HTML DOM, and the issue to be considered is whether the XML DOM is sufficient or whether an XForms DOM is warranted.
Profiles and test suites for document types that combine XForms with other W3C specifications, for instance, XHTML, P3P, SVG and SMIL Boston. This work will be limited in scope and done in cooperation with other W3C working groups, and in most cases will leverage test suites developed by these groups.
Promotional materials and activities - encouraging the development of authoring tools, user agents and good practices for the next generation of Web forms, for example, tutorial descriptions and open meetings
Liaison with other W3C groups can take advantage of a broad range of mechanisms such as cross membership, reviews of drafts produced by other groups, joint meetings etc. In some cases a cross-working group task force will be set up to facilitate a shared understanding of requirements and to make proposals on how to move forwards. The first step for XForms Working Group will be to use the "Last Call" process to solicit review of the published requirements for XForms by other W3C working groups.
The Working Group gathers for face-to-face discussions 3 to 4 times a year. Meeting details will be made available on the W3C Member Calendar and from the Working Group page. Weekly teleconference meetings will be held otherwise throughout its lifetime. It is expected that members participate regularly in these teleconferences, but that otherwise they contribute to the Working Group's success by undertaking some of the many subsidiary tasks that are necessary, according to their expertise and as their other commitments permit. Different subcommittees will often have to work together to produce some results to feed into the whole process.
A list of documents actively under consideration by the group, is to be maintained by the W3C staff contact under the direction of the working group Co-Chairs. To add a document to the list, or to revise a document in the list, the draft should be sent to the Co-Chairs and/or the group mailing list. The Co-Chairs will decide on new/revised drafts in collaboration with the group, provided the document falls within the scope of work items for the group. As documents stabilize, they will be released as W3C Working Drafts.
The Working Group Charter shall be publicly accessible on the W3C Web site, along with descriptions of the goals and current status of the Working Group's proposals, plus guidelines, tutorials and other promotional materials. A public mailing list and archive shall be provided to encourage open discussion of the Working Group's proposals.
To ensure the freedom of discussion sometimes necessary for an open and fruitful exchange of views, the e-mail archives and minutes of meetings of the Working Group will be restricted to W3C members and invited experts.
Within W3C
Outside W3C
Aside from the dedicated work of the Group members, a chair is required to facilitate discussion and coordinate efforts; the tasks of posting minutes and other materials to the groups Web pages must be taken care of too. Steven Pemberton has volunteered to act as chair, with Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer helping out as co-chair.
Face to face meetings are generally hosted by organizations participating in the working group. This will involve arranging a place to meet, reserving accommodation for participants and catering so as to maximize effective working time.
The archived member-only mailing list w3c-xforms-wg@w3.org is the primary means of discussion within the group.
The archived mailing list www-forms@w3.org is used for public discussion of the new generation of XForms, and Working Group members are encouraged to subscribe. The Working Group is expected to track discussions on this list and to respond appropriately, as a commitment to public accountability.
A weekly one-hour phone conference will be held. The exact details, dates and times will be published in advance on the Working Group page. The Chair is expected to post an agenda in advance of the conference call.
The Working Group shall maintain a Web page that shows the list of active documents, the meeting schedule, and links to email archives, meeting minutes, and the list of Working Group participants etc. These pages will be restricted in access to W3C members and invited experts.
The Group works by consensus. In the event of failure to achieve consensus, the Group may resort to a vote as described in the W3C Process. Each Member company which has at least one Group member in good standing may vote. There is one vote per W3C Member company. Votes are held by email to allow all participants a chance to vote; there is a two week voting period followed by a period of two working days for the announcement of the result. W3C staff and invited experts do not vote; however in the event of a tie the chair has a casting vote. If the issue is solved by consensus during the voting period, the vote is cancelled.
Requirements for meeting attendance and timely response are described in the W3C Process. Participation (meetings, reviewing and writing drafts) is expected to consume time amounting one half to 1 day per week for the lifetime of the group. Working group participants are required not to disclose information obtained during participation, until that information is publicly available.
W3C Members may also offer to review one or more working drafts from the group for clarity, consistency, technical merit, fitness for purpose and conformance with other W3C specifications. The only participation requirement is to provide the review comments by the agreed-to date.
As decided on a case by case basis, invited experts may attend a single meeting or a series; they may in some cases be subscribed to the Group mailing list. For the duration of their participation, invited experts are encouraged to adopt the same requirements for meeting attendance and timely response as are required of W3C Members.
Invited experts are subject to the same requirement for information disclosure as are required of W3C Members.
W3C team will ensure that the mailing lists and Group page are adequately maintained and that public Working Drafts are made available on the Technical Reports page. W3C team will arrange to take minutes at teleconferences and face to face meetings and post these to the Group mailing list and to the Group page.
A W3C team member will provide liaison between non-team document editors and the W3C team; including posting revisions of Working Drafts to the Group page.
W3C team are expected to adopt the same requirements for meeting attendance, timely response and information disclosure as are required of W3C Members.