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Components of UAAG 2.0 Conformance Claims - Platform Limitations Note
Minutes of the UAWG discussion on this topic - 5 June 2014 http://www.w3.org/2014/06/05-ua-minutes.html#item05
Greg's proposal
(from IRC of 5 June 2014) Back in 2013 I suggested adding the following to 7: <Greg> Note: For the purpose of this paragraph, platform includes only the hardware, operating system, or cross-platform operating environment, as these generally cannot be replaced without substantially changing the target market. For example, if the user agent runs on an operating system that does not provide platform accessibility services, a conformance claim for this configuration can list the result for that success criterion as “Not applicable due to platform limitations”, and describe the specific platform limitation. However, if the user agent was implemented using a widget library that does not support the platform accessibility services, the user agent could not claim an exemption based on that design decision.
UAWG Discussion
UAWG like the text and the spirit of the proposal but did not want to put it in the normative sections of the document. We are thinking about where it could go in Implementing. UAWG wants to record this proposal and the decision not to put it in the normative conformance section for the following reasons:
- difficulty in defining platform vs. library
- restrictive of developers who may have over-riding needs for using a particular library
- implied need for UAWG to track libraries and platforms that comply (UAAG version of "Technology Supported"