Accessibility..
..Roadmap and the Web Applications Backplane
Al Gilman, Chair, Protocols and Formats WG, W3C/WAI
W3C Technical Plenary, 1 March 2006
Session 8: Rich Web Application Backplane
Why an Accessible Dynamic Web Content Roadmap?
Fulfill platform-API contract with Assistive Technology
Accessibility requires compatibility with AT
Platforms provide standard Access APIs
Scripted Aps per current practice don't support these
afford functional and usable adapted views
function: orientation --
Where am I?
What is there?
What can I do?
function: actuation --
from keyboard and from API
navigation: move "Where am I?
performance: usable --
low task failure rate confirms access to action, orientation
reasonable task-completion time confirms structure, orientation, navigation
What is the Roadmap?
Gap analysis identifies missing functionality, allocates
document: declare states (e.g. of flyout)
script: do no harm (e.g. no document.write)
XHTML 1.1 module gets states and properties in DOM
imports @role from XHTML 2.0
key relationshipships such as controlled-by
doucuments can be validated to DTD
RDF Ontology of @role values documents interaction model
tree, menu -- structured widgets
application -- signals that script provides navigation
How this relates to evolution of a backplane for Web Aps
Restore access to Web Aps ASAP
Modest incremental change in format and practice
Running code in Firefox
AJAX community enthusiastic
Stepping stone to WAF technology
Follows MVC paradigm
Orients scripting practice to where backplane benefits are clear
Contributes requirements for any backplane
Domain-specific formats don't need to have to invent
Access APIs bring stable requirements
is_a platform service; ergo Backplane service
Summary
Roadmap offers Authors writing script-enabled HTML Web Aps
a Shortcut to Accessible Aps
an On-ramp to the high road of XML-native UI formats
with accessible interactive behavior enabled by the Backplane
