- This version:
- http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-xhtml-role-20071004
- Latest version:
- http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-role
- Previous version:
- http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-xhtml-role-20061113/
- Diff from previous version:
- xhtml-role-diff.html
- Editors:
- Mark Birbeck, x-port.net Ltd.
- Shane McCarron, Applied Testing and Technology, Inc.
- Steven Pemberton, CWI/W3C®
- T. V. Raman, Google, Inc.
- Richard Schwerdtfeger, IBM Corporation
This document is also available in these non-normative formats: PostScript version, PDF version, ZIP archive,
and Gzip'd TAR archive.
The English version of this specification is the only normative version. Non-normative translations may also be available.
Copyright © 2006
W3C® (MIT, ERCIM, Keio), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability, trademark and document use rules apply.
The XHTML Role Attribute defined in this specification allows the author to annotate XML Languages with machine-extractable semantic information about the purpose of an element. Use cases include
accessibility, device adaptation, server-side processing, and complex data description. This attribute can be integrated into any markup language based upon XHTML Modularization [XHTMLMOD].
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 and the latest revision of
this technical report can be found in the W3C technical reports index at http://www.w3.org/TR/.
This document is a Last Call Working Draft. It is based upon comments received against the previous draft, and also upon work done in the definition of [XHTML2]. The Last Call period extends through 26 October 2007.
This document has been produced by the W3C XHTML 2 Working Group as part of the HTML Activity. The goals of
the XHTML 2 Working Group are discussed in the XHTML 2 Working Group charter.
This document was produced by a group operating under the 5 February 2004 W3C Patent Policy. W3C maintains a public list of any patent disclosures made in connection with the deliverables of the group; that page also includes instructions for
disclosing a patent. An individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes contains Essential
Claim(s) must disclose the information in accordance with section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy.
Publication as a Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is
inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress.
Please report errors in this specification to www-html-editor@w3.org (archive). It is
inappropriate to send discussion email to this address. Public discussion may take place on www-html@w3.org (archive).
This section is informative.
This document is a module designed to be used to help extend the scope of XHTML-family markup languages into new environments. It has been developed in conjunction with the accessibility community
and other groups to make it easier to describe the semantic meaning of XHTML-family document content.
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].
Note that all examples in this document are informative, and are not meant to be interpreted as normative requirements.
XHTML Role Attribute Module is not a stand-alone document type. It is intended to be integrated into other host languages such as XHTML. A conforming XHTML Role Attribute Module document is a
document that 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:
-
The document MUST conform to the constraints expressed in Appendix A - DTD Implementation, combined with the constraints expressed in its
host language implementation.
-
If the host language is not in the XHTML namespace, the document MUST contain an xmlns declaration for the XHTML Role Attribute Module namespace [XMLNAMES]. The namespace for XHTML Role Attribute Module is defined to be http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml. An example start tag of a root element might look
like:
This example is informative
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" >
When the XHTML Role Attribute Module is included in a host language, all of the facilities required in this specification MUST be included in the host language. In addition, the attribute defined in this specification MUST be included in the content model of the host language. Finally, the attribute MUST be referenced
using its namespace-qualified form (e.g., <myml:myelement xhtml:role='definition'>a term</myml:myelement>).
A conforming user agent MUST support all of the features required in this specification.
This section is normative.
In order to allow for the scoped expression of role values, this specification uses a superset of of QNames that allows the contraction of all URIs (QNames have a syntactic restriction on the sorts of URI that can be
contracted).
These Compact URIs are called CURIEs here.
Note that this syntax definition will ultimately be defined in an external document [CURIE].
A CURIE is comprised of two components, a prefix and a reference. The prefix is separated from the reference by a colon (:). It is possible to omit the prefix, and
make use of the default prefix. It is also possible to omit both the prefix and the colon, leaving just a reference.
curie := [ prefix [ ':' ] ] reference
prefix := NCName
reference := irelative-ref (as defined in [IRI])
The prefix value MUST be defined using the 'xmlns:' syntax specified in [XMLNAMES].
If the prefix is omitted from a CURIE, the default value of http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/vocab# MUST be used.
A CURIE is a representation of a full IRI. This IRI is obtained by concatenating the IRI associated with the prefix with the reference. The result MUST
be a syntactically valid IRI [IRI].
The CURIE prefix '_' is reserved. For this reason, prefix declarations using '_' SHOULD be avoided by authors.
Host languages MAY define additional constraints on these syntax rules when CURIES are used in the context of those host languages. Host languages
MUST NOT relax the CURIE syntax constraints defined in this specification.
This section is normative.
The role attribute takes as its value one or more whitespace separated CURIEs. Any non-qualified value MUST be interpreted in the XHTML
namespace, and MUST be taken from the list defined in this section.
The attribute describes the role(s) the current element plays in the context of the document. This can be used, for example, by applications and assistive technologies to determine the purpose of
an element. This could allow a user to make informed decisions on which actions may be taken on an element and activate the selected action in a device independent way. It could also be used as a
mechanism for annotating portions of a document in a domain specific way (e.g., a legal term taxonomy).
This example is informative
<ul role="navigation wai:sitemap">
<li href="downloads">Downloads</li>
<li href="docs">Documentation</li>
<li href="news">News</li>
</ul>
Authors may use the following standard roles, listed here with their conventional interpretations. They are intended to define regions of the document to help orient the user.
- banner
- A banner is usually defined as the advertisement at the top of a web page. The banner content typically contains the site or company logo and other key advertisements for the site.
- contentinfo
- This is information about the content on the page. For example, footnotes, copyrights, links to privacy statements, etc. would belong here.
- definition
- The contents of the associated element represent a definition (e.g., of a term or concept). If there is a
dfn element within the contents (as defined in [XHTMLMOD]), then that represents the term being defined.
- main
- This defines the main content of a document.
- navigation
- This is a collection of links suitable for use when navigating the document or related documents.
- note
- The content is parenthetic or ancillary to the main content of the resource.
- search
- This is the search section of a web document. This is typically a form used to submit search requests about the site or a more general Internet wide search service.
- secondary
- This is any unique section of the document. In the case of a portal, this may include but not be limited to: show times; current weather; or stocks to watch.
- seealso
- Indicates that the element contains content that is related to the main content of the page.
It is possible to define additional role values. Such values MUST be defined in their own namespace. Note that current best practice is that the URI associated with that namespace resolve to a
resource that allows for the discovery of the definition of the roles in the namespace. Example definitions include the RDF/OWL Taxonomy for the XHTML role attribute values in
Appendix B, and the Web Accessibility Initiative's work on an RDF Taxonomy [ARIA-ROLE].
This appendix is normative.
The DTD implementation of XHTML Role Attribute Module conforms to the requirements defined in [XHTMLMOD]. Consequently, it provides a Qualified Names
sub-module, and a module file for the XHTML Role Attribute Module module defined in this Proposed Recommendation.
Note that this module defines the parameter entity %xhtml-role-attrs.qname;. This entity is intended to be used in the attribute lists of elements in any host language that permits
the use of the role attribute on elements in its own namespace. In this case the Host Language driver should set a parameter entity %XHTML-ROLE.prefixed; to INCLUDE and a
parameter entity %XHTML-ROLE.prefix; to a value that is the prefix for the XHTML Role Attribute Module attributes.
<!-- ....................................................................... -->
<!-- XHTML Role Qname Module ............................................ -->
<!-- file: xhtml-role-qname-1.mod
This is XHTML Role - the Role Attribute Module for XHTML.
Copyright 2006 W3C (MIT, ERCIM, Keio), All Rights Reserved.
This DTD module is identified by the PUBLIC and SYSTEM identifiers:
PUBLIC "-//W3C//ENTITIES XHTML Role Attribute Qnames 1.0//EN"
SYSTEM "http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/DTD/xhtml-role-qname-1.mod"
Revisions:
(none)
....................................................................... -->
<!-- XHTML Role Attribute Qname (Qualified Name) Module
This module is contained in two parts, labeled Section 'A' and 'B':
Section A declares parameter entities to support namespace-
qualified names, namespace declarations, and name prefixing
for XHTML Role and extensions.
Section B declares parameter entities used to provide
namespace-qualified names for the XHTML role attribute:
%role.qname; the xmlns-qualified name for @role
...
XHTML Role extensions would create a module similar to this one.
-->
<!-- Section A: XHTML Role Attribute XML Namespace Framework ::::::::::::::: -->
<!-- 1. Declare a %XHTML-ROLE.prefixed; conditional section keyword, used
to activate namespace prefixing. The default value should
inherit '%NS.prefixed;' from the DTD driver, so that unless
overridden, the default behavior follows the overall DTD
prefixing scheme.
-->
<!ENTITY % NS.prefixed "IGNORE" >
<!ENTITY % XHTML-ROLE.prefixed "%NS.prefixed;" >
<!-- 2. Declare a parameter entity (eg., %XHTML-ROLE.xmlns;) containing
the URI reference used to identify the XHTML Role Attribute namespace
-->
<!ENTITY % XHTML-ROLE.xmlns "http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<!-- 3. Declare parameter entities (eg., %XML.prefix;) containing
the default namespace prefix string(s) to use when prefixing
is enabled. This may be overridden in the DTD driver or the
internal subset of an document instance. If no default prefix
is desired, this may be declared as an empty string.
NOTE: As specified in [XMLNAMES], the namespace prefix serves
as a proxy for the URI reference, and is not in itself significant.
-->
<!ENTITY % XHTML-ROLE.prefix "" >
<!-- 4. Declare parameter entities (eg., %XHTML-ROLE.pfx;) containing the
colonized prefix(es) (eg., '%XHTML-ROLE.prefix;:') used when
prefixing is active, an empty string when it is not.
-->
<![%XHTML-ROLE.prefixed;[
<!ENTITY % XHTML-ROLE.pfx "%XHTML-ROLE.prefix;:" >
]]>
<!ENTITY % XHTML-ROLE.pfx "" >
<!-- declare qualified name extensions here ............ -->
<!ENTITY % xhtml-role-qname-extra.mod "" >
%xhtml-role-qname-extra.mod;
<!-- 5. The parameter entity %XHTML-ROLE.xmlns.extra.attrib; may be
redeclared to contain any non-XHTML Role Attribute namespace
declaration attributes for namespaces embedded in XML. The default
is an empty string. XLink should be included here if used
in the DTD.
-->
<!ENTITY % XHTML-ROLE.xmlns.extra.attrib "" >
<!-- Section B: XML Qualified Names ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
<!-- 6. This section declares parameter entities used to provide
namespace-qualified names for the XHTML role attribute.
-->
<!ENTITY % xhtml-role.role.qname "%XHTML-ROLE.pfx;role" >
<!-- The following defines a PE for use in the attribute sets of elements in
other namespaces that want to incorporate the XML Event attributes. Note
that in this case the XHTML-ROLE.pfx should always be defined. -->
<!ENTITY % xhtml-role.attrs.qname
"%XHTML-ROLE.pfx;role CDATA #IMPLIED"
>
<!-- end of xhtml-role-qname-1.mod -->
<!-- ...................................................................... -->
<!-- XHTML Role Module .................................................... -->
<!-- file: xhtml-role-1.mod
This is XHTML Role - the Role Attribute Module for XHTML.
Copyright 2006 W3C (MIT, ERCIM, Keio), All Rights Reserved.
This DTD module is identified by the PUBLIC and SYSTEM identifiers:
PUBLIC "-//W3C//ENTITIES XHTML Role Attribute 1.0//EN"
SYSTEM "http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/DTD/xhtml-role-1.mod"
Revisions:
(none)
....................................................................... -->
<!-- XHTML Role Attribute Module does nothing, since role is not incorporated
in any elements content model as part of this module. -->
<!-- end of xhtml-role-1.mod -->
This section is informative
This example is informative
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!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/2005/07/aaa#">
<!ENTITY wairole "http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#">
]>
<rdf:RDF xml:base="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/#"
xmlns:owl="http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#"
xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#"
xmlns:states="http://www.w3.org/2005/07/aaa#"
xmlns:wairole="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/wai-rdf/GUIRoleTaxonomy#"
<owl:Class rdf:ID="banner">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:region"/>
<wairole:scope rdf:resource="wairole:document"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
A banner is usually defined as the advertisement at the top of
a web page. The banner content typically contains the site or
company logo and other key advertisements for the site.
</dc:description>
</owl:Class>
<owl:Class rdf:ID="contentinfo">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:region"/>
<wairole:scope rdf:resource="wairole:document"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
This is information about the content on the page.
For example, footnotes, copyrights, links to privacy
statements, etc. would belong here.
</dc:description>
</owl:Class>
<owl:Class rdf:ID="definition">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:section"/>
<wairole:scope rdf:resource="wairole:document"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
The contents of the associated element represent a
definition (e.g., of a term or concept). If there is a
dfn element within the contents (as defined in [XHTMLMOD]),
then that represents the term being defined.
</dc:description>
</owl:Class>
<owl:Class rdf:ID="main">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:region"/>
<wairole:scope rdf:resource="wairole:document"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
This defines the main content of a document.
</dc:description>
</owl:Class>
<owl:Class rdf:ID="navigation">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:region"/>
<wairole:scope rdf:resource="wairole:document"/>
<wairole:relatedConcept rdf:resource="wairole:menu"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
This is the navigation bar on a web document. This is
typically a list of links to other pages on the site or other
areas of the same document.
</dc:description>
</owl:Class>
<owl:Class rdf:ID="note">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:section"/>
<wairole:scope rdf:resource="wairole:document"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
The content is parenthetic or ancillary to the main content
of the resource.
</dc:description>
</owl:Class>
<owl:Class rdf:ID="search">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:region"/>
<wairole:scope rdf:resource="wairole:document"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
This is the search section of a web document. This is
typically a form used to submit search requests about
the site or a more general Internet wide search service.
</dc:description>
</owl:Class>
<owl:Class rdf:ID="secondary">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:region"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
This is any unique section of the document. In the case
of a portal, this may include but not be limited to: show
times; current weather; or stocks to watch.
</dc:description>
</owl:Class>
<owl:Class rdf:ID="seealso">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="wairole:section"/>
<dc:description xml:lang="en">
Indicates that the element contains content that is related
to the main content of the page.
</dc:description>
<wairole:relatedConcept rdf:resource="#main"/>
</owl:Class>
</rdf:RDF>
This appendix is normative.
- IRI
- "Internationalized Resource Identifiers (IRI)", RFC 3987, M.Duerst, M. Suignard January 2005.
Available at: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3987.txt
- [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
- [XHTMLMOD]
- "Modularization of XHTML™ 1.1", W3C Proposed Recommendation, D. Austin et
al., eds., 13 February 2006.
Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/PR-xhtml-modularization-20060213
The latest version is available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-modularization
- [XMLNAMES]
- "Namespaces in XML", W3C Recommendation, T. Bray et al.,
eds., 14 January 1999.
Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-xml-names-19990114
The latest version is available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names
- [ARIA-ROLE]
- "Roles for Accessible Rich Internet Applications". L. Seeman, R. Schwerdtfeger, 1 June 2007.
The latest version is available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/aria-role
- CURIE
- "CURIE Syntax 1.0", W3C Working Draft, M. Birbeck, S. McCarron, eds., 7 March
2007.
Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-curie-20070307
The latest version is available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/curie
- [XHTML]
- "XHTML™ 1.0: The Extensible HyperText Markup Language (Second Edition)". S. Pemberton et
al., 26 January 2000, revised 1 August 2002.
Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/REC-xhtml1-20020801
The latest version is available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1
- [XHTML2]
- "XHTML™ 2.0". J. Axelsson et al., 27 May 2005.
Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/2005/WD-xhtml2-20050527
The latest version is available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml2
This section is informative.
At the time of publication, the participants in the W3C XHTML 2 Working Group were: