[uf-discuss] Expanding the abbr pattern

[Tantek Ç elik]

On 4/27/07 10:18 AM, "John Beales" <john at johnbeales.com> wrote:

> Jeremy wrote:
>> The simplest solution is to simply expand the pattern to allow the
>> same usage of class and title on elements other than abbr (span is
>> specifically mentioned but this would potentially apply to any element).
> .........
>> I'd be interested in hearing other arguments for or against this idea.
> 
> I have another one for.  This isn't from a screen reader perspective,
> but an IE perspective.
> 
> Because IE doesn't support the abbr element it is very difficult to
> target anything written using the abbr design pattern with CSS.

This is no longer true.  IE7 supports the abbr element.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms649487.aspx


> If we could use, say, a span this would solve that problem.

If you must have pixel-perfect rendering for your content/site in older
browsers that don't support abbr, and you need abbr-specific styling, then
yes, a workaround is to add a <span> element as a styling hook for those
older browsers.  However we MUST NOT compromise microformats for browsers
that failed to implement *an entire HTML4 element*.


Tantek