W3C

Role Taxonomy for Accessible Adaptable Applications Working Draft

An [RDF] Role Taxonomy with [Qname] Support for Accessible Adaptable [XML] Applications

PFWG Editor's Draft 8 May 2006

This version:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/GUI/roleTaxonomy-20060508 (Summary of Changes)
Latest version:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/GUI/
Previous version:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/GUI/roleTaxonomy-20060221
Editors:
Lisa Seeman, UB Access

Abstract

This specification provides designers with extra semantic role information that make user interfaces more usable and accessible.

Web applications often rely on a hybrid of technologies (such as SVG, AJAX, DHTML and JavaScript) that do not promote the rich interaction semantics. Adaptive technologies, that need to provide alternative access to complex user interfaces, are often left guessing at the semantics behind specific portions of a document making them inaccessible. To fix the problem this specification provides extra semantics to support platform accessibility interfaces.

The goal is to make static and interactive content of Web pages more usable and accessible to their users and their assistive technologies. This goal is achieved by providing a cross-platform role model for dynamic Web content that allows for content adaptations based on role information. The result is to provide an interoperable way for associating behaviors with document-level markup.

Request for Comments

The PF working group has developed a roadmap for making dynamic web content more accessible to people with disabilities. To assure these technologies will interoperate in a manner that improves accessibility for the widest range of web technologies, the PF working group asks for comments and suggestions on how this specification can be improved for use in the technologies that you or your working group are developing. In general we prefer public comments so that all people (including the general public) reviewing the document can be aware of your comments, but you may also send member confidential comments that will be available only to the working group and other W3C members.

Status of This Document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current W3C publications can be found in the W3C technical reports index at http://www.w3.org/TR/. This report has not been published to the W3C technical reports index.

This document is an initial Draft by the Protocols & Formats Working Group of the Web Accessibility Initiative.

This specification adds semantics to content to improve the accessibility and interoperability of Web Content and Applications. This document and the States and Adaptable Properties Module are the result of the gap analysis of the DHTML accessibility roadmap to enable accessible dynamic Web content and applications. The Working Group expects to advance this document to a Working Draft and Recommendation.

This document is for review purposes only. The web address, URL and file name of this document may/will change. Publication as a Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsolete by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress.

This document was produced under the 5 February 2004 W3C Patent Policy. The Working Group maintains a public list of patent disclosures relevant to this document; that page also includes instructions for disclosing [and excluding] a patent. An individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes contains Essential Claim(s) with respect to this specification should disclose the information in accordance with section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy

Table of Contents

  1. 1. Introduction
    1. 1.1 Example: Grid
    2. 1.2 Terms and Definitions
    3. 1.3 About This Draft
  2. 2. The RDF Roles Model
    1. 2.1 Example: Tristate Checkbox
    2. 2.2 Properties
    3. 2.3 Roles
      1. 2.3.1 Base and Abstract Roles
      2. 2.3.1 Widget Roles
      3. 2.3.1 Structural Roles
  3. 3. Building Accessible Applications
    1. 3.1 How To Build Applications Using Roles
    2. 3.2 Example: Tree View
  4. 4. Conformance Requirements
    1. 4.1 Document Conformance
    2. 4.2 Host Language Conformance
    3. 4.3 User Agent Conformance
  5. 5. Extending Roles
    1. 5.1 How To Extend Roles
    2. 5.2 When To Extend Roles
  6. Appendix A: Implementation
  7. References
  8. Temporary Appendix: Removed Structural Roles that were Included in Previous Working Drafts

1.Introduction

This section is informative.

Roles are a simple way for an author to make custom widgets (new interactive elements) accessible, usable and interoperable.

Complex user interfaces become inaccessible because adaptive technologies, that provide alternative access, are often left guessing at the semantics behind portions of a document (see the Dynamic Accessible Web Content Roadmap Roadmap). Using this specification you can assign a role name to an object that maps the object to the accessibility framework on the native platform and provides semantics needed by adaptive technologies.

This role taxonomy currently includes interaction widget and structural document objects. The supporting taxonomy is encoded in RDF (Resource Description Framework). The RDF taxonomy encodes inheritance information and details of what states and properties each role support. When possible, role information is mapped to platform accessibility API's.

Roles are element types and should not change with time or user actions. For assigning meaningful properties that change with time and events see the WAI States and Adaptable Properties Module.

1.1 Example: Grid

This section is informative.

In this example, a table has been assigned the role of a grid or spread sheet.

<table id="table1" x2:role="wairole:grid" >
....
</table>

Encapsulated in the role information is information for the platform accessibility infrastructure and/or accessibility tooling that enables it to be properly treated. (In this case that multiselectable is supported and cells may be editable.)

A full spreadsheet example is available online at http://www.mozilla.org/access/dhtml/spreadsheet

Roles can be embedded in any host language, e.g. [XHTML] 1.1. In many case Roles will work well with other supporting technologies, such as XHTML 1.1 For Accessible Adaptable Applications and xml-events.

1.2 Terms and Definitions

This section is informative.

While some terms are defined in place, the following definitions are used throughout this document. Familiarity with W3C [XHTML] 1.1 Recommendation [XHTML] and the W3C XML 1.0 Recommendation [XML] is highly recommended.

accessibility API
This is the accessibility API for a given platform. Examples of this are the Java Accessibility API (JAPI), Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA), and the Gnome Accessibility Toolkit (ATK).
functionality
processes and outcomes achievable through user action
user agent
any software that retrieves and renders Web content for users
Example: Web browsers, media players, plug-ins, and other programs — including assistive technologies — that help in retrieving and rendering Web content.
Assistive technology (in the context of this document)
a user agent that:
1. relies on services (such as retrieving Web content and parsing markup) provided by one or more other "host" user agents. Assistive technologies communicate data and messages with host user agents by using and monitoring APIs.
2. provides services beyond those offered by the host user agents to meet the requirements of users with disabilities. Additional services include alternative renderings (e.g., as synthesized speech or magnified content), alternative input methods (e.g., voice), additional navigation or orientation mechanisms, and content transformations (e.g., to make tables more accessible).
Example: Examples of assistive technologies that are important in the context of this document include the following:
screen magnifiers, which are used by people with visual disabilities to enlarge and change colors on the screen to improve the visual readability of rendered text and images;
screen readers, which are used by people who are blind or have reading disabilities to read textual information through synthesized speech or braille displays;
voice recognition software, which may be used by people who have some physical disabilities;
alternative keyboards, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate the keyboard;
alternative pointing devices, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate mouse pointing and button activations.

Note: This definition is based on WCAG Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 .

1.3 About This Draft

This section is informative.

This draft currently handles two aspects of roles - GUI functionality and structural relationships of the element. For more information see the Dynamic Accessible Web Content Roadmap Roadmap and implementation examples for the use of roles making dynamically generated content accessible.

This taxonomy is designed in-part to support the common roles found in platform accessibility API (Accessible Programmable Interfaces) frameworks. Reference to roles found in this taxonomy by dynamic Web content may be used to support dynamic accessible content authoring, interoperability with assistive technologies.

The schema to support this standard has been designed to be extended so that custom roles can be created while providing a common schema for describing how to interact accessibly with a custom role. Note that much of this could be formalized in [XML]schema (of XSD). However being able to define similarities between roles, such as baseConcepts and more descriptive definitions would not be available in XSD.

At some point the working group intends to add roles for A, Adding concepts in the type of content for adaptation to the user scenario and B, Knowledge representation of Web content.In future versions of this specification the working group intend to add roles in support of individualized content adaptation and knowledge representation of Web content.

2.The RDF Roles Model

This section is normative.

This specification defines a Taxonomy called Roles. The Roles Taxonomy uses the [XML namespace] [XMLNAMES] identifier

http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#

All examples are informative. Examples in this document that use the[XML namespace] prefix "wairoles" all assume a valid xmlns declaration such as

xmlns:wairoles="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#"

in the document involved.

The remainder of this section describes the classes instances and properties in this taxonomy, the semantics, and provides an [RDF] Schema.

2.1 Example: Tristate Checkbox

In this example a span has been used to create a tri-state checkbox (a checkbox control that has three possible states). A role is used to make the behavior of this simple widget known to the user agent. Properties that may change with user actions (such as checked) use States and Adaptable Properties Module (aaa [namespace]).

   <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
            xmlns:x2="http://www.w3.org/2002/06/xhtml2"
            xmlns:wairole="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#"
            xmlns:aaa="http://www.w3.org/2005/07/aaa" >
<head>...</head> <body> ... <span class="checkbox" id="chbox1" x2:role="wairole:checkboxtristate" aaa:checked="mixed" onkeydown="return checkBoxEvent(event);" onclick="return checkBoxEvent(event);" tabindex="0" > A checkbox label </span> ... </body> </html>

In this example the support schema will define a checkboxtristate as a type of checkbox (which itself is defined as a type of select). Although it inherits all the supported states of a select, we also expect it to support multiselect and checked set to mixed.



2.2 Role Properties

Roles are defined and described by their properties. Properties define the structural function of a role, such as: What a roles is, concepts behind it , what it can contain, what it must contain.

In the case of widgets this also includes how it interacts with the user agent based on mapping to [HTML] forms and [XForms], allowed states and required states.

Relationships between concepts

The are three properties that describe the relationship between concepts. They are:

RDF diagram for the role buttonUndo. It shows it inheriting the support of author property pressed from parent role button, which itself inherits author properties labeledby, describedby, and disabled from its parent role widget.

The Roles Taxonomy supports the following additional properties:

Additional Properties Supported by Role Taxonomy

Property

Description

Values

Related Concepts

supportedState a supportedState must be supported by this role. Typically refers to states from the aaa [namespace]
Any valid [RDF] object reference, such as a URI.
mustContain A child element that must be contained by this role. For example a list must contain a listitem.
Any valid [RDF] object reference, such as a URI or [RDF] ID. http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#subject

OWL Cardinality

http://www.w3.org/TR/owl-ref/#CardinalityRestriction

scope Context, where this role is allowed. For example a list item is allowed inside a list. Any valid [RDF] object reference, such as a URI or [RDF] ID.
http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#Concept
media The media type, where the Role is allowed - a type of scope Any valid [RDF] object reference, such as a URI or [RDF] ID. baseConcept: DC: Format
[XForms] media type
importance Estimated importance of a role to completion of the main tasks of a delivery unit. For example a main menu is typically required for a user to be able to completer the main tasks of a site. A secondary side menu is typically less important. Hence a main menu has an importance level of one and secondary side menu may have an importance level of 0.6.
0 (min)

1 (max)

nameRef How a role type name is extracted and referenced inside a document. For example the DOM might reference a role by it's title. Any valid [RDF] object reference, such as a URI or [RDF] ID.


Recommended values: Child, title, content.



2.3 Roles

To support the current user scenario this specification defines roles that A, help define Widgets (For example, a tristate Checkbox) and B, help define page structure (for example, a section header).

Graph of the data model-Picture of the relationships described in the role data model (large)

2.3.1 Roles: Abstract and Base Classes

*note: More base types will be added as the working group adds user cases

The following roles are used as base types for applied roles. They are not used by Web Authors and would not be exposed as role definitions for incorporation into a Web page. Base classes are referenced within the taxonomy and are used to build a picture of the role taxonomy class hierarchy within the taxonomy.

Base Types of Roles

Role

Description

Inherited Category

Base and Related Concepts

Supported

states and properties
(beyond inherited states)

Inherited supported
states and properties
(Widgets only)

nameRef

roletype Describes the structural and functional purpose of an element.
A Role is also a concept.

DC:Type
skos:Concept
[HTML] role
[HTML] Link rel
[HTML] Link rev
describedby
widget A component of a GUI roletype disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
describedby
input Generic type for widgets that can have a value widget [XForms] input valuenew

describedby

disabled

zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex

Title
textbox Generic type for the inputs that allow free-form text, as their value input [XForms] input readonly (default set to false)
describedby

valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex

Title
select A form control that allows the user to make selections from a set of choices input
list (see structure)

multiselectable describedby

valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex

Title
range Represents a range of values that can be set by the user. input
valuemax
valuemin

describedby

valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex

Title
section A logical part of a DeliveryUnit (page or a document)
document,
[DTB],
NIMAS,
[HTML] link rel

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

describedby Child content or title attribute
sectionhead A heading without level [HTML]/[DTB]/NIMAS h1, h2... hasparent

haschild

describedby Child content or title attribute

window Browser or application window application

expanded
subpageof

describedby
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
Child content or title attribute

2.3.2 Widget Roles

Widget Roles all map to accessibility API's.

Widget Role Mapping to Accessibility APIs

Widget Role

Description

Inherited Concepts

Base and Related Concepts

New supported states(beyond inherited states)

Inherited states

(other then describedby)

nameRef

link Interactive reference to a resource
(note, that in [XHTML] 2.0 any element can have an href attribute and thus be a link)
widget [HTML] Link
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
Child content
title
combobox Combobox is a presentation of a select, where you can type to locate a selected item.

NOTE: In [XForms] the same select can have one of 3 appearances: combo-box, drop-down box or group of radio-buttons. Besides, many browsers (if not all of them) allow users to type in a drop-down select as well.
select [HTML] select (multiple)
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex

multiselectable
hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
Title
option A selectable item in a list represented by a Select. input
listitem (see structure)
ListItem(see structure),
[HTML] option,
[XForms] item
selected
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex


hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

Child content
title
checkbox A control that has two possible states, an equivalent to a boolean checkboxtristate [HTML] input (type : checkbox) checked
="true"|"false"
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
selected
hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
Child content
title
checkboxtristate A control that has three possible states, (1 0 -1) Often found in installer where an option has been partially installed option

checked
="true"|"false"|"mixed"
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
selected
hasparent
haschild

flowto
flowfrom
Child content
title
radio A radio is an option in single-select list.
checkbox [HTML] input (type : radio)
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
selected
checked ="true"|"false

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

Child content
title
radiogroup Maybe, we would rather have a generic "group of choices" type.
select

valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex

selected
multiselectable
hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom


Title


button Allows for user-triggered actions. Buttons are mostly used for discrete, atomic actions. Its value is cognitive; the idea that this is a user action opportunity is made very clear by making it look like a front-panel button on a device. The animation of the button in response to indirect (by mouse) manipulation fosters the illusion of direct manipulation and keeps user cognition in sync with the UI perception of user action events. Standardizing the appearance of buttons enhances recognition as buttons and arraying them compactly in toolbars, for example. widget
link
[XForms] trigger pressed
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
Child content
title


menuitemradio Indicates that you have a menu item which is part of a group of menuitermradio roles which the checking of one unchecked the rest. Furthermore, when implementing these menuitems should be separate into a group by a separator. menuitem (see structure)
radio


valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

selected
checked="true"|"false"

Child content
title
menuitemcheckbox Defines a menuitem which is checkable (tri-state). menuitem
checkbox


valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex


hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

selected
checked= "true"|"false"

Child content
title


progressbar Used by applications for tasks that take a long time to execute, to show the execution progress.

User understands that the user's action request has been accepted and that the application continues (or ceases, in the case of a static display) to make progress toward completing the requested action.

widget
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
Title
secret Provides the user with the ability to supply information to the system in a manner that makes it difficult for someone, other than the user, who may be observing the process to discern the value that is being supplied.

Uses: passwords on login
Benefits: password not exposed to others within visual range of the display device, or who walk by before the display is cleared.
Detriments: passwords have to be typed blind, without the usual echo to the screen. Web users get used to having their input echoed, type badly, and in particular not having people with tremor etc. able to confirm what is entered runs risk such as having account locked if three non-accepted tries happen in some time window.
Detriment: policy not to display is usually taken to be absolute; whereas a user with screen blank and earphone in use can get the typing echoed privately not subject to having a lurker purloin the password.

input [HTML] input (type : password)
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
Title
separator A line or bar that separates and distinguishes sections of content. This is a visual separator between sections of content. Separators are found between lists of menu items in a menu. widget [HTML] hr
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
Title
slider A user input where the user selects an input in a given range. It is a form of Range that expects an analog keyboard interface.

This is a range type for which with the added functionality of being able to select a value from the given range through the use of a visible slider. The slider would be keyboard accessible and provide a visible thumb position that represents the current position within the slider.

range
step valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
valuemax
valuemin
Title
spinbutton A form of Range that expects a user selecting from discreet choices.

This is another range type with the added functionality of being able to select from the given range through the use of an up and down button. Visibly, the current value is incremented or decremented to a maximum or minimum value correspondingly. This functionality should be accomplished programmatically through the use of up and down arrows on the keyboard.

range step
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
valuemax
valuemin
Title
textarea This is a multi-line editable text box. If a standard form element exists with this functionality it should be used.

Intended use is in languages that do not have a textarea object (such as SVG). The user would use this role when additional states or properties are applied to a standard textarea control. This is to indicate to the user agent that it must process additional states and properties such as invalid and required.

textbox [HTML] textarea
valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
readonly
Title
textfield Free-form data entry for short on-line content.

Intended use is in languages that do not have a textfield object (such as SVG). The user would use this role when additional states or properties are applied to a standard textarea control. This is to indicate to the user agent that it must process additional states and properties such as invalid and required.

textbox [HTML] input (type : text) valuenew
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
readonly
Child content
title
tree A form of a Select (or, generally, of a list having groups inside groups) - where sub trees can be collapsed and expanded select
expanded
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
multiselectable
hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
Child

content title

treegroup This is a group of sibling tee items that have a common parent. Intended use is for creating groups of treeitems within a tree container. group
expanded disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
multiselectable
Child

content title

treeitem An option item of a tree. This is an element within a tree which may be expanded or collapsed option
checked
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
selected
Content
child title
status Process--advisory information. This is a container for process advisory information to give feedback to the user. It must have a subtree. This object typically does not receive focus. Some cells of a Braille display may be reserved to render the status. widget
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
alert A message with an alert or error information. Alerts are used to convey messages to alert the user. In the case of audio warnings this is an accessible alternative for a hearing impaired user. The Alert role goes on the container of the subtree containing the alert message. status [XForms] alert disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
Title
alertdialog A window with an alert or error information. Alerts are used to convey messages to alert the user. In the case of audio warnings this is an accessible alternative for a hearing impaired user. The Alert role goes on the container of the subtree containing the alert message. alert
dialog
[XForms] alert
disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
haspopup
Title
dialog A dialog is a small application window that sits above the application and is designed to interrupt the current processing of an application in order to prompt the user to enter information or require a response. Dialog boxes should have a title. They must have a focused item. window

disabled
zoom
domactive
labeledby
tabindex
haspopup
Title

2.3.3 Structural Roles

Roles for document structure are also required to support the accessibility of dynamic Web content to assist adaptive technology in determining active content vs. static document content. Structural Roles, by themselves do not all map to accessibility API's, but are used to create widget roles or assist content adaptation.

This schema is likely to evolve as new use cases are added to the scope of this specification.

Structural Roles

Roles

Description

Inherited Category

Base and Related Concepts domRef or
Not Mapped to Accessibility API's

Support ed states
(all support describedby)

scope and mustcontain
presentation An element who's role is Presentational does not need to be mapped to the accessibility API.

Intended use is when an element is used to change the look of the page but does not have all the functional, interactive, or structural relevance implied by the element type.

Example use cases:
  • A layout table is a presentation.
  • An object tag whose content is decorative like a white space image or decorative flash object
  • An image used for white space

The user agent may remove all structural aspects of the element being repurposed. For example a table marked as presentation would remove the table, td, th, tr, etc. elements while preserving the individual text elements within it. Because the AT knows to ignore the structural aspects implied in a table, no harm is done by using a table for layout.

[Device Independence Glossary]: Task

Not Mapped



application A software unit executing a set of tasks for its users

Intended is to hint to the assistive technology to switch its normal browsing mode functionality to one in which they would for an application.

Use case: In an email application it has a document and an application in it. The author would want to use typical application navigation mode to cycle through the list of emails. Much of this navigation would be defined by the application author. However, when reading an email message the ATV will want to switch to a document mode where it controls browsing navigation.

[Device Independence Glossary]: Task/ deliveryunit

Name from title attribute



document Content that contains information, such as a book. The document role is used to tell the screen reader to switch back to its normal document browsing mode. Screen readers consume most of the keyboard navigation keys to provide its own keyboard UI for this type of navigation. subpageof

[Device Independence Glossary]: Task/ deliveryunit

Name from title attribute



group A group is a collection of sections or user interface objects that should be presented to the user in a coherent fashion.

Group members that are outside the DOM subtree of the group would need to have explicit relationships assigned to participate in the group.

Groups may be nested.

section DC: Collection, Dataset

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom


mustContain sections
imgroup An imgroup is a container for a collection elements that form an image. An imgroup can captions, and descriptive text as well as multiple image files that when viewed together give the impression of a single image. group DAISY , [DTB] imgroup

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom



mustContain sections
directory A list of references to members of a single group. list DAISY [DTB]:TOC

Name from child content or title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom



region A group of elements that together form a perceivable unit, that the author feels should be included in a summary of page features. A region must have a title.

A region does not necessarily follow the logical structure of the content, but follows the perceivable structure of the page.

[XHTML]2 standard document roles would be considered regions. Each region must have a title.

section [HTML] Frame

device independence glossary: perceivable unit.

related concept: section

Name from title attribute

expanded
labeledby hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

controls


liveregion This is a region of a web page that is likely to change. This is a region of the page which responds to a push, a timed change, or a user event, such as AJAX controlled regions.

Properties that define this type of changes are not limited to this region.

region

Name from title attribute

disabled
controledby
expanded
labeledby
controls
hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
log A liveregion where new information is added and old information may disappear such as, chat logs, messaging, game log or an error log. liveregion

Name from title attribute

disabled
controledby
expanded
labeledby
controls
hasparent
haschild
flowto

grid A grid is a table type that may be editable. Grids contain cells that may be focusable. Grids allow the user to move focus between grid cells with 2-D navigation. Grids may have row and column headers which also have functional value based on the implementation. Grid cells may have values determined by an equation.

Grids are single selectable or mutliselectable. Properties for selectable or mulitselectable must be provided by the author. Grids may be used for spreadsheets such as in Open Office, Microsoft Office, etc.

table

widget

[HTML] table

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
disabled
controledby
labeledby
controls
mustcontain: gridcells
gridcell A cell in a grid. Cells may have relationships such as (controller_for controlled_by) to address the application of functional relationships. section

textarea

[HTML] td

Name from child content or title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
disabled
controledby
readonly
labeledby
controls
valuenew
zoom
domactive
tabindex

tabpanel A visual presentation of a section. Tabpanels are commonly used in applications that have a large number of options that can be categorized in logical groups. The Tabpanels serve three functional components, including a menu bar of groupings, a selected grouping and set of resources associated with that group. Each tab in a tablist serves as both a menu item and as a title for the tab content associated with the tab. In graphical renderings the selected Tab and TabContent usually share the same background color and the non-selected tabs have a different background color to make the selected Tab and TabContent stand out visually and provide a visual association with the Tab and TabContent. Only one tabpanel's contents is visible at a time. group

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

tab A tab is a tabpanel header. Tab is used as a grouping label, providing a link for selecting the resources associated with the group to be rendered to the user. One of the tabs in tablist must be the current tab and the tabpanel, associated with the tab, must be rendered to the user. Other tabpanels are typically hidden from the user, until the user selects the tab associated with that tabpanel. The currently selected tab should be marked with selected=true.tablist is the container for a set of elements with the role attribute set to tab. Only one tab may be selected at a time. At any time, one tab must be selected. sectionhead

Name from child content or title attribute

hasparent
haschild
selected
scope: tabPanel
tabcontent Tabcontent is a container for the resources associated with a tab. Note: There must be a means to associate a content container element with its associated tab in a tablist. region

Name from title attribute

expanded
labeledby
hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
controls

table A table contains cells of tabular data arranged in rows and columns.

The table role is used as a container for tabular data. The table construct describes relationships between data such that it may also be used for different presentations. For example, the role of a table could be added to a pie chart. This does not imply presentation. It is structural equivalent to an [XHTML] table. In [XHTML], a user should use table.

group [HTML] table

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

td A table cell containing data. section [HTML] td Name from child content or title attribute hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

th A table cell containing header information. id="L171106"sectionhead
td
[HTML] th

Name from child content or title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
scope: TD
rowheader A table cell containing header information for a row. The rowheader establishes a relationship between it and all cells in the corresponding row. It is a structural equivalent to an HTML th with a row scope. This would be used as a row header in a table or grid. It also could be used in a pie chart to show a similar relationship in the data. th [HTML] th with scope= row

Name from child content or title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
scope: TD
columnheader A table cell containing header information for a column. The columnheader establishes a relationship between it and all cells in the corresponding row. It is a structural equivalent to an HTML th with a column scope. This would be used as a column header in a table or grid. It also could be used in a pie chart to show a similar relationship in the data. th [HTML] th with scope= column

Name from child content or title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
scope: TD
list Group of small items group [HTML] list

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom


listitem An entry in a list. section [XForms] item

[HTML] li

Name from child content or title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom



menu Offers a list of choices like a GUI menu. Often a list of links to important sections of a Document or a Site. widget

list

navigation in [HTML] roles
see
http://www.w3.org/
TR/2005/WD-xhtml2-20050527
/mod-role.html#col_Role

[XForms] select

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom
mustcontain: menuitems
toolbar A toolbar is a collection of commonly used functions represented in compact visual form.

The toolbar is a subset of functions found in a menubar designed minimize real estate and conserve user device interaction.

If this is not keyboard accessible the actions defined in the toolbar must be reproduced in an accessible, device independent fashion.

menu menubar

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom


menubar A container that contains menu items. Each menu item may activate a menu. Navigation behavior should be similar to a GUI menu bar

It is used to create a menubar similar to those found in Windows, the Mac, and Gnome desktops. A menubar is used to create a consistent climate of frequently used commands.

menu toolbar

Name from title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom


menuitem A link in a menu. This is an option in a group of choices contained in a menu. It may be disabled or active. It may also have a popup. listitem [XForms] option

Name from child content or title attribute

haspopup

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom


breadcrumbs Bread crumb navigation list. Each element in the list is a representation of hiearchary represented linearly. The logical order of the text begins with the root element. menu

Name from child content or title attribute

hasparent
haschild
flowto
flowfrom

scope: links

3 Building Accessible Applications

This section is informative.

An application becomes accessible when:

  1. Each element or widget is marked with full and corrected semantics that fully describes it's behavior (using element names or roles).
  2. The relationships between elements and groups are known
  3. States, properties, and relationships are valid for each elements behavior and are accessible via the DOM.
  4. There is an element having the correct input focus.

Roles make the different elements in the application semantically rich. User agents use the role semantics to understand how to handle each element. Roles can be used to build accessible applications by providing any missing information that the assistive technology needs to anticipate the behavior of the elements inside the application.

For example, to support accessibility the browser may create accessible objects of a web page though the Accessibility API of the operating system. When the full semantics are provided and understood by the browser, the application will properly map the page to accessible objects of the operating system.

3.1 How To Build Applications Using Roles

This section is informative.

3.1.1 Step 1: Use your native mark up as well as you can

Use the semantic elements that are defined in the native markup language. For example, if you are using [XHTML] it is better to use the [XHTML] checkbox than to use a div element with role checkbox. Because properly used [XHTML] content is already repurposible, roles are best used when the mark up language does not support all the semantics that you need. When a role is used the semantics and behavior of the element are overridden by the role behavior.

3.1.2 Step 2: Find the right roles

Set roles to make sure elements behave predictably and that correctly describes the behavior of each element within your application (unless elements behaviors are fully described by the native markup language). Roles for interactive elements should support all the states that the element could use.

3.1.3 Step 3: Look for groups

Look for groups within a page, and mark them using the most appropriate role that best describes their usage.

For example: a region of the page that is contains a group of elements that are likely to change through an AJAX application could be tagged as a "liveregion".

3.1.4 Step 4: Build relationships

Look for relationships between groups and mark the using the most appropriate property or attribute.

Sometimes the relationships can be made clear via the native mark up language, such as the label tag in [<a href="#ref_HTML">HTML</a>].

Sometimes this can be implied via the DOM. For example, when a well marked up list contains list items it is known that they belong to the containing list. In such cases you do not need to set additional properties to make that explicit.

In other cases use the states and adaptable properties module to state relationships. For example: if a container A contains search results, and container B contains the search controls, the mark each container as a region and set the aaa:controledby property in region B to region A.

3.1.5 Step 5: Set properties

Extra states and properties have been provided by the States and Adaptable Properties Module. For example: If the user is required to fill in a form element set the aaa:required property to true.

An important addition in the States and Adaptable Properties Module is new extensions of TABINDEX. Now, with the TABINDEX change, the author is allowed to give any element keyboard focus (and not just form elements or anchors). In this paradigm shift, the user experience should be to use tabbing or keyboard mnemonics to move focus to widgets on the web page and then use the arrow keys to navigate the object.

Example: building a tree view in XHTML 1.0

This section is informative.

picture of a tree view

A basic tree view allows the user to select different list items and expand and collapse embedded lists. Arrow keys are used to navigate through a tree, including left/right to collapse/expand sub trees. Double clicking with mouse also toggles expansion.

Step one: Look at your native mark up language

There is no a tree element in [XHTML] 1.0 that supports our behavior including expansion, so we will need to use roles. Therefore, our first step is setting roles.

Step two: Finding the right roles

Our tree will need roles that support embedded list behavior and expandable/collapsible embedded lists. The roles that support tree behavior for a tree are:

Tree: the main container element for our treeA form of a Select (or, generally, of a list having groups inside groups) - where sub trees can be collapsed and expanded.

Treegroup: This is a group of sibling tee items that have a common parent. Intended use is for creating groups of treeitems within a tree container.

Treeitem: An option item of a tree. This is an element within a tree which may be expanded or collapsed.

Step three and four: Look for groups and build relationships

Tree relationships can be made simply via the Dom and logical structure of your page.

A tree element will be the main container containing all other elements in the tree.

Each selectable item in the tree will be a treeitem

When a tree item contains a embedded list of tree items they will be all embedded in a treegroup. A treegroup should be contained inside the tree item that is the parent item.

Tree relationships are like list relationships in [XHTML]. A treegroup and tree elements act like list containers (OL and UL). A tree item acts like a list item (li) in [XHTML].

Because treeitems and treegroups are commonly both use div elements it is recommended to ad a comment next to closing treeitems that contain embedded tree groups

<div x2:role="wairole:tree" >
 <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem" >Veggies
  <div x2:role="wairole:treegroup">
   <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Green
     <div x2:role="wairole:treegroup">
     <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Asparagus</div>
     <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Kale</div>
     <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem" >Leafy
      <div x2:role="wairole:treegroup">
       <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Lettuce</div>
       <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Kale</div>
       <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Spinach</div>
       <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Chard</div>
      </div>
     </div> ---close leafy
     <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Green beans</div>
    </div>
   </div> ---close green
  <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Legumes</div>
  <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem" >Yellow
   <div x2:role="wairole:treegroup">
    <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Bell peppers</div>
    <div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Squash</div>
   </div>
  </div> ---close yellow
 </div>
</div> ---close veggies

</div> ---close tree

Sometimes a tree structure is not explicit via the Dom and logical structure of a page. In such cases the relationships must still be made explicit using the properties module.

Example:

<div x2:role="wairole:treeitem" aaa:haschild=yellowtreegroup”>Yellow<div>
..
<div id="yellowtreegroup" x2:role="wairole:treegroup">
<div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Bell peppers</div>
<div x2:role="wairole:treeitem">Squash</div>
</div>

Although this is allowed it may affect performance

Step 5: Use properties

Control the behavior of the element using Events and states,

For example, use the aaa name space with supporting scripts to control what tree elements are expanded

<div tabindex="-1" x2:role="wairole:treeitem" aaa:expanded="true">Yellow</div>

And use events to device independent events with supporting javascripts to handle user interaction.

<div x2:role="wairole:tree" tabindex="-1"
onfocus="return treeItemFocus(event);"
onclick="return treeItemEvent(event);"
ondblclick="return treeItemEvent(event);"
onkeydown="return treeItemEvent(event);"
onkeypress="return treeItemEvent(event);">

Then create javascript support to control the event driven behavior or the application.

4.Conformance Requirements

This section is normative.

The keywords "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

4.1. Document Conformance

Roles for [RDF] and XML is not a stand-alone document type. It is intended to be integrated into other host languages such as [XHTML]. A conforming document requires only the facilities described as mandatory in this specification and the facilities described as mandatory in its host language. Such a document must meet all the following criteria:

  1. The document must conform to the constraints expressed in Appendix a - [RDF] Schema combined with the constraints expressed in its host language implementation.
  2. The document must contain an xmlns declaration for the role [namespace]. The namespace for Roles is defined to be
    http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#
    

    An example start tag of a root element might look like:

    <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2002/06/xhtml2" xml:lang="en"
    xmlns:wairole="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#" >

Note: In XML languages without the Role attribute name included, the Role attribute name can be added from the [XHTML] 2.0 [namespace].

For example:

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:x2="http://www.w3.org/2002/06/xhtml2" xmlns:wairole="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#">

4.2. Host Language Conformance

When Roles are included in a host language, all of the facilities required in this specification must be included in the host language.

4.3. User Agent Conformance

A conforming user agent must reference the role information reference in the DOM.
However it is advised that a conforming user agent also allows for roles to be extended via [RDF] . When a role from a different specification extends or inherits from a role in this specification, then that role should also be supported at least to the extent that the original role is supported.

5 Extending Roles

This section is informative.

5.1 How To Extend Roles

Roles are extendable using [RDF]. It is not recommended to extend roles unless you are familiar with [RDF] syntax specification.

Using RF syntax set properties to make the definition rich. This includes:

A widget role is one that has inherited properties from widgets. You may only inherit from one widget role. Inherence from other types of roles is not restricted.

5.2 When To Extend Roles

New roles will slow down application performance. Therefore, you should probably only extend roles when:

Appendix A. Implementation

Note: This RDF is still in draft form and changes from last draft have not been validated. Some related concepts may be missing.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE rdf:RDF [
<!ENTITY xsd "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#">
<!ENTITY dc "http://dublincore.org/2003/03/24/dces#">
<!ENTITY owl "http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#">
<!ENTITY rdfs "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#">
<!ENTITY rdf "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
<!ENTITY states "http://www.w3.org/2005/01/aaa#">
<!ENTITY skos "http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#">
]>

<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/#" xmlns:owl="http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#" xmlns:role="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#"
xmlns:skos="http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#"
xml:base="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy">

<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="relatedConcept">
<rdfs:comment xml:lang="en">The URI of similar/related types from other specifications (See SKOS)</rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&xsd;anyURI"/>
</owl:ObjectProperty>

<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="baseConcept">
<rdfs:comment xml:lang="en">This is similar to type but without inheritance of limitations and properties. role:baseConcepts are designed as a substitute for inheritance for external concepts. </rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:sub propertyOf rdf:resource="#role:relatedConcept"/>
</owl:ObjectProperty>

<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="supportedState">
<rdfs:comment xml:lang="en">A state that can be supported for this a Role</rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Widget"/>
</owl:ObjectProperty>

<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="scope">
<rdfs:comment xml:lang="en">Context where this role is allowed</rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#role"/>
</owl:ObjectProperty>

<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="mustContain">
<rdfs:comment xml:lang="en">A child that must be contained by this role</rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:sub propertyOf rdf:resource="#role:scope"/>
</owl:ObjectProperty>

<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="media">
<rdfs:comment xml:lang="en">The media type, where the Role is allowed - a type of role:scope, simmilar to DC: Format or media type</rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:sub propertyOf rdf:resource="#role:scope"/>
</owl:ObjectProperty>


<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="default">
<rdfs:comment>Default value of a supported state in the context of this role</rdfs:comment>
</owl:ObjectProperty>


<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="importance">
<rdfs:comment>relative importance of a role (0 - 1)</rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&xsd;anyURI"/>
</owl:ObjectProperty>

<owl:ObjectProperty rdf:ID="nameRef">
<rdfs:comment>How a role type name is extracted and referenced inside a document. For example the DOM might reference a role by it's title.</rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Widget"/>
<rdfs:Range/>
</owl:ObjectProperty>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="roletype">
<rdfs:comment>This is a draft resource for adding semantic annotations and information to Web resources. Knowing what the types of content are in a Web page allows for better customized renderings. Including want to allow information hiding, or rendering common types of content in a consistent way - it makes the Web easer to use and more accessibility. You can also use this for device independence so that content is better formatted to fit on the device. </rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:subClassOf>
<owl:Restriction>
<owl:onProperty rdf:resource="dc:description"/>
<owl:cardinality rdf:datatype="&xsd;string">1</owl:cardinality>
</owl:Restriction>
</rdfs:subClassOf>
<rdfs:comment>You have to give each content type a title and description sorry folks (just be glad I did not put a min length on the description</rdfs:comment>
<rdfs:comment>These are the required properties - however we recommend also using role:importance. </rdfs:comment>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;importance"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;describedby"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="widget">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#roletype"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A widget is a base class for widgets. </dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:parseType="Resource">
<rdfs:value>states:disabled</rdfs:value>
<role:default>false</role:default>
</role:supportedState>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;zoom"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;domactive"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;tabindex"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;labelledby"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="input">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#widget"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/interact/forms.html#edef-INPUT"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">An input is a base class for widgets that have a value. </dc:description>
<role:domRef rdf:resource="&states;title"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;valuenew"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="textbox">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#input"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A textbox is a base class for widgets that have a free-form text value. </dc:description>
<role:domRef rdf:resource="&states;Childcontent"/>

<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;readonly"/>

</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="link">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#widget"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">Interactive reference. </dc:description>
<role:domRef rdf:resource="&states;title"/>
<role:domRef rdf:resource="&states;Child content"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="select">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#list"/>
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#input"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/interact/forms.html#edef-SELECT"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="#list"/>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="#option"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A select is an Input that allows the user to make selections from a set of choices. </dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;multiselectable"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="combobox">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#select"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/interact/forms.html#edef-SELECT"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="#list"/>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="#option"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A combobox is a sellect with a specific presentation. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="radiogroup">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#select"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/interact/forms.html#edef-SELECT"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="#list"/>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="#radio"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A select containing radio-buttons, instead of options. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="Option">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#input"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/interact/forms.html#edef-OPTION"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="#listitem"/>
<role:scope rdf:resource="#select"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">An option is a selectable item in a list represented by a Select. </dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:parseType="Resource">
<rdfs:value>states:selected</rdfs:value>
<role:default>false</role:default>
</role:supportedState>
<role:domRef rdf:resource="&states;Child conten"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="checkbox">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#checkboxtristate"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A checkbox is an input that has two possible values, an equivalent to a boolean. </dc:description>
<rdfs:comment xml:lang="en">checked="true"|"false"</rdfs:comment>
<role:domRef rdf:resource="&states;Child content"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="checkboxtristate">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#option"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A checkboxtristate is a control that has three possible states. </dc:description>
<rdfs:comment xml:lang="en">checked="true"|"false"|"mixed"</rdfs:comment>
<role:supportedState rdf:parseType="Resource">
<rdfs:value>states:checked</rdfs:value>
<role:default>false</role:default>
</role:supportedState>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="radio">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#checkbox"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">An option in single-select list. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="menuitemcheckbox">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#checkbox"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="#menuitem"/>
<role:scope rdf:resource="#menu"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A menuitemcheckbox is a checkbox that is inside a menu, next to a menu item. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="menuitemradio">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#radio"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="#menuitem"/>
<role:scope rdf:resource="#menu"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A menuitemradio is a radio-button that is inside a menu, next to a menu item. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="button">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#widget"/>
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#link"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/interact/forms.html#edef-BUTTON"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="#link"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A button is a widget that allows for user-triggered actions. </dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:parseType="Resource">
<rdfs:value>states:pressed</rdfs:value>
<role:default>false</role:default>
</role:supportedState>
<role:domRef rdf:resource="&states;Child content"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="progressbar">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#widget"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">Progressbar is a widget used by applications to show the execution progress for tasks that take a long time to execute. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="separator">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#widget"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A separator is a line or bar that separates and distinguishes sections of content. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>


<owl:Class rdf:ID="secret">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#input"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A secret input provides the user with the ability to supply information to the system in a manner that makes it difficult for someone, other than the user, who may be observing the process to discern the value that is being supplied.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="range">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#input"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A range is an input that restricts the user to a range of values.</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;valuemax"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;valuemin"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="slider">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#range"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A slider is a range input thatthat restricts the user to a range of values and expects an analog keyboard interface.</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;step"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="spinbutton">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#range"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A spinbutton is a range input that restricts the user to a range of values, and expects discreet choices..</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;step"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="textarea">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#textbox"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/interact/forms.html#edef-TEXTAREA"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A textarea is a textbox input intended for use in entering multi-line content.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="textfield">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#textbox"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A textfield is a textbox input intended for free-form data entry for short on-line content.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="tree">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#select"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="#chart"/>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="#treeitem"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A tree is a select, where groups of options (sub-trees) can be collapsed and expanded.</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;expanded"/>
</owl:Class>


<owl:Class rdf:ID="treegroup">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#group"/>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="#treeitem"/>
<role:scope rdf:resource="#tree"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">This is a group of sibling tee items that have a common parent. Intended use is for creating groups of treeitems within a tree container.</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;expanded"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="treeitem">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#option"/>
<role:scope rdf:resource="#tree"/>

<dc:description xml:lang="en">A treeitem is an option item of a tree.</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;checked"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="dialog">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#window"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A dialog is a (small) application window.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="alert">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#status"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">An alert is a dialog with inportant alert or error information.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="alertdialog">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#dialog"/>
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#alert"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">An alert is a dialog with inportant alert or error information.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="status">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#widget"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">Process--advisory information. This is a container for process advisory information to give feedback to the user.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="deliveryunit">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#roletype"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A deliveryunit is structure that is delivered to the client </dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;describedby"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;labelledby"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="task">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#deliveryunit"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A task is a delivery unit that is delivered to the client to perform a specific task </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="presentation">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#task"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">An element who's role is Presentational does not need to be mapped to the accessibility API</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="application">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#task"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">An application is a software unit task executing a set of sub tasks for its users</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="document">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#deliveryunit"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A document is a unit of content, such as text, that together conveys information. The document role is used to tell the screen reader to switch back to its normal document browsing mode.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>



<owl:Class rdf:ID="section">
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.loc.gov/nls/z3986/v100/dtbook110doc.htm#frontmatter"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.loc.gov/nls/z3986/v100/dtbook110doc.htm#level"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-smil/#par"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A section is a logical part of a DeliveryUnit (page or a item) </dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;hasparent"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;haschild"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;flowto"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;flowfrom"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="window">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#application"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A window refers to a browser or application window</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;expanded"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;subpageof"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="region">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#group"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A group of elements that together form a perceivable unit, that the author feels should be included in a summary of page features. A region must have a title.</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;expanded"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;labeledby"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;controls"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="group">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#section"/>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="#section"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A group is a collection of sections, and is also itself a section. It defines a set or sub set. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="imggroup">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#group"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A img group is a container for a collection elements that form an image.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="list">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#group"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">a list is a group of small items</dc:description>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="listitem"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/lists.html#edef-UL"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="listitem">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#section"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A listitem is an entry or item in a list.</dc:description>
<role:scope rdf:resource="list"/>
<role:baseConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/lists.html#edef-LI"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="directory">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#list"/>
<role:scope rdf:resource="group"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A list of references to members of a single group.</dc:description>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="link"/>
</owl:Class>


<owl:Class rdf:ID="liveregion">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#region"/>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="tiles"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
This is a region of a web page that is likely to change. This is a region of the page which responds to a push, a timed change, or a user event, such as AJAX controlled regions</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;disabled"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;controlledby"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="log">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#liveregion"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
A liveregion where new information is added and old information may disappear such as, chat logs, messaging, game log or an error log..</dc:description>
</owl:Class>


<owl:Class rdf:ID="grid">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#table"/>
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#widget"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#edef-TABLE"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A grid is a visual presentation of a group of data.
A grid is a table type that may be editable. Grids contain cells that may be focusable. Grids allow the user to move focus between grid cells with 2-D navigation. Grids may have have row and column headers which also have functional value based on the implementation. Grid cells may have values determined by an equation. </dc:description>
<role:mustContain rdf:resource="gridcell"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;disabled"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;controlledby"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;labeledby"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;controls"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="gridcell">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#section"/>
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#textarea"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#edef-TD"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A gridcell is a section inside a grid</dc:description>
<role:scope rdf:resource="grid"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;controlledby"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;controls"/>

</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="tab">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#sectionhead"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A tab is the header for a tabpanel.</dc:description>
<role:scope rdf:resource="tabpanel"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;selected"/>

</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="tabpanel">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#group"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A visual presentation of a section. Tabpanels are commonly used in applications that have a large number of options that can be categorized in logical groups. The Tabpanels serve three functional components, including a menu bar of groupings, a selected grouping and set of resources associated with that group. Each tab in a tablist serves as both a menu item and as a title for the tab content associated with the tab. In graphical renderings the selected Tab and TabContent usually share the same background color and the non-selected tabs have a different background color to make the selected Tab and TabContent stand out visually and provide a visual association with the Tab and TabContent. Only one tabpanel's contents is visible at a time. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="tabcontent">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#region"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">tabcontent is a container for the resources associated with a tab. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>


<owl:Class rdf:ID="table">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#group"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#edef-TABLE"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A table is avisual presentation of a group of data. A table contains cells of tabular data arranged in rows and columns.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="td">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#section"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#edef-TD"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A td is a table cell containing data and is a small section a table.</dc:description>
<role:scope rdf:resource="#table"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="th">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#td"/>
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#sectionheader"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#edef-TH"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A th is a table cell containing data that acts as a heading for a group of table cells.</dc:description>
<role:scope rdf:resource="#table"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="columnheader">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#th"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#edef-COL"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A table cell containing header information for a column. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="rowheader">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#th"/>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#edef-COL"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A table cell containing header information for a row. </dc:description>
</owl:Class>


<owl:Class rdf:ID="menu">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#widget"/>
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#list"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A menu is a block of links.</dc:description>
<role:relatedConcept>See navigation in XHTML roles, See://www.w3.org/TR/2005/WD-xhtml2-20050527/mod-role.html#col_Role</role:relatedConcept>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.loc.gov/nls/z3986/v100/dtbook110doc.htm#sidebar"/>
<rdfs:mustcontain rdf:resource="#menuitems"/>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="menuitem">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#listitem"/>
<role:scope rdf:resource="#menu"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A menu item is an item or link inside a menu.</dc:description>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;haspopup"/>

</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="toolbar">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#menu"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A toolbar is a collection of commonly used functions represented in compact visual form.
The toolbar is a subset of functions found in a menubar designed minimize real estate and conserve user device interaction.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="menubar">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#menu"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A container that contains menu items. Each menu item may activate a menu. Navigation behavior should be similar to a GUI menu bar

It is used to create a menubar similar to those found in Windows, the Mac, and Gnome desktops. A menubar is used to create a consistent climate of frequently used commands</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="breadcrumbs">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#menu"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
Bread crumb navigation list. Each element in the list is a representation of hiearchary represented linearly. The logical order of the text begins with the root element.</dc:description>
</owl:Class>

<owl:Class rdf:ID="sectionheader">
<dc:description xml:lang="en">A heading without level</dc:description>
<role:relatedConcept>See HTML Headings - ://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/global.html#edef-H1</role:relatedConcept>
<role:relatedConcept rdf:resource="http://www.loc.gov/nls/z3986/v100/dtbook110doc.htm#levelhd"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;hasparent"/>
<role:supportedState rdf:resource="&states;haschild"/>
</owl:Class>


</rdf:RDF>

References

[RFC2119]
"Key words for use in RFCs to indicate requirement levels", RFC 2119, S. Bradner, March 1997.
Available at: http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119.txt
[XML]
"Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Second Edition)", W3C Recommendation, T. Bray et al., eds., 6 October 2000.
Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-xml-20001006
The latest version is available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml
[XHTMLMOD]
"Modularization of XHTML™", W3C Recommendation, M. Altheim et al., eds., 10 April 2001.
Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-xhtml-modularization-20010410
The latest version is available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-modularization
[MSAA]
" Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) state information™".
Available at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/msaa/msaaccrf_8y2b.asp
[GAP]
" Gnome Accessibility Project (GAP) State and StateSets™".
Available at: http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gap/tech-docs/at-spi-docs/at-spi-cspi-state-and-statesets.html
[AAC]
" Apple Accessibility for CocoaTM".
Available at: http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/Accessibility/index.html
[SKOS]
SKOS is an area of work developing specifications and standards to support the use of knowledge organisation systems (KOS) such as thesauri, classification schemes, subject heading lists, taxonomies, terminologies, glossaries and other types of controlled vocabulary within the framework of the semantic web.
[DAISY]
DAISY denotes the Digital Accessible Information SYstem
[NIMAS]
NIMAS the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS), is a voluntary standard to guide the production and electronic distribution of flexible digital instructional materials, such as textbooks, so that they can be more easily converted to Braille, text-to-speech, and other accessible formats.
[DTB]
The DigitalDigital Talking Book standard that defines the format and content of the electronic file set that comprises a digital talking book (DTB) and establishes a limited set of requirements for DTB playback devices.
[HTML/XHTML]
HTML/XHTML standard for building Web pages.
[RDF]
The Resource Description Framework is a language for representing information about resources in the World Wide Web.
[Namespace]
XML namespaces XML namespaces provide a simple method for qualifying element and attribute names used in Extensible Markup Language documents.
[Device Independence Glossary]
Device Independence Glossary is a glossary of terms used in other documents produced by the Device Independence Working Group (DIWG). Details of the entire series of documents can be found on the W3C Device Independence Activity home page.
[XForms]
XForms is an XML application that represents the next generation of forms for the Web.
[QName]
Qualified names is part of [XML Namespaces]. They were defined for element and attribute names (only) and provide a mechanism for concisely identifying a {URI, local-name} pair.

Temporary Appendix: Removed Structural Roles that were Included in Previous Working Drafts

The following roles were removed until structural roles are fully considered

Structural Roles that were included in Previous Working Drafts
Widget Role Description Inherited Concepts Base and Related Concepts New supported states(beyond inherited states)

Inherited states

nameRef

buttonsubmit This form control initiates submission of all or part of the instance data to which it is bound Button HTML input (type :submit)
Disable, zoom

pressed

Child conteny
title


buttoncancel This button initiates closing a window or leaving a form (e.g. To another page) without submission Button

Disable, zoom

pressed

Child content
title
buttonundo This control brings a form to the initial state (e.g. returns all default values to all inputs) Button HTML input (type : reset)
Disable, zoom pressed Child content
title
buttonback Brings user-agent to the previous page or state Button HTML Link
Disable, zoom pressed Child content
title
hidden A form control that is never displayed to the user, but is always submitted to the server with the form.

NOTE: In XForms, unless bound to form controls, instance data nodes are not presented to the user; consequently, there is no need for a form control corresponding to [HTML] input type="hidden".

Input [HTML] input (type : hidden)
Disable, zoom Title
spreadsheet Interactive table where the user can enter the values Widget
Table

Multiselectable Disable, zoom Title
col Description of a table column. Group
Name from title attribute
scope: TD
row Defines a table row. Group [HTML] tr Name from title attribute
scope: TD
menubar A Visual presentation of a menu Menu
Name from title attribute

mainmenu A menu containing the most important links on this page/document Menu
Name from title attribute
submenu1 Main submenu Menu
Name from title attribute

submenu2 Secondary submenu Menu
Name from title attribute

submenutrivia Unimportant submenu Menu
Name from title attribute

footer Small text at the end of a page - typically contains copyright and similar information
[HTML] roles : contentinfo, copyright Not mapped


footermenusite A menu found at the bottom of a page containing important site links. Typically includes a link to a "contact us" page and other important site's pages. Menu
Footer

Not mapped


heading1 Level 1 heading Sectionhead [HTML]/[DTB]/NIMAS h1 Name from child content or title attribute

heading2 Level 2 heading Sectionhead [HTML]/[DTB]/NIMAS h2 Name from child content or title attribute
level=2
heading3 Level 3 heading Sectionhead [HTML]/[DTB]/NIMAS h3 Name from child content or title attribute
level=3
heading4 Level 4 heading Sectionhead [HTML]/[DTB]/NIMAS h4 Name from child content or title attribute
level=4
heading5 Level 5 heading Sectionhead [HTML]/[DTB]/NIMAS h5 Name from child content or title attribute
level=5
heading6 Level 6 heading Sectionhead [HTML]/[DTB]/NIMAS h6 Name from child content or title attribute
level=6

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict