dfn
element to identify the defining instance of a wordHTML and XHTML
This technique relates to:
The objective of this technique is to use the dfn
to mark the use of a
word or phrase where it is defined. The dfn
element is used to indicate the
defining instance of the enclosed term. In other words, it marks the occurrence of the
term where the term is defined. Note that it encloses the term, not the definition. This
technique would be used in combination with G112: Using inline definitions to provide the definition.
The following code snippet demonstrates the use of the dfn
element.
Example Code:
<p>The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines require that non-text content
has a text alternative. <dfn>Non-text content</dfn> is content that is not a sequence
of characters that can be programmatically determined or where the sequence is
not expressing something in human language; this includes ASCII Art (which is a
pattern of characters), emoticons, leetspeak (which is character substitution), and
images representing text .</p>
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HTML 4.01 DFN Element
Identify all words that are defined inline in the text, that is, where the definition occurs in a sentence near an occurrence of the word.
Check that each word that is defined inline is contained in a dfn
element.
Check #2 is true.
If this is a sufficient technique for a success criterion, failing this test procedure does not necessarily mean that the success criterion has not been satisfied in some other way, only that this technique has not been successfully implemented and can not be used to claim conformance.
Techniques are informative—that means they are not required. The basis for determining conformance to WCAG 2.0 is the success criteria from the WCAG 2.0 standard—not the techniques. For important information about techniques, please see the Understanding Techniques for WCAG Success Criteria section of Understanding WCAG 2.0.