[xep-support] block-container w/in basic-link doesn't result in working link

[W. Eliot Kimber]

G. Ken Holman wrote:

>> There was a a long and hot dispute a while ago on one of the list
>> regarding the exact area that must be made hot according to the 
>> recommendation.
> 
> 
> I remember it well!  :{)}
> 
>   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/XSL-FO/message/2132
> 
> On my screen the replies are not in chronological order ... not sure how 
> to arrange them as such.  I think it helps to read them in order.

I think we can all agree that the FO spec is seriously underspecified in 
this area.

Certainly my desire and expectation is that all the areas descending 
from a basic-link are hot up to, but not including, any nested basic 
links, with the possible exception of "non-sensical" areas, such as 
markers and footnotes, which should probably not be hot at all as a 
result of being anchored within the scope of a basic link.

But David's point in one of the posts about the need for basic-link as a 
separate construct at all is a good one: I see no reason why the link 
properties can be allowed everywhere. David's argument that existence of 
basic-link suggests an intended greater degree of restriction is 
somewhat compelling (but I actually doubt that was the motivation for 
basic link--I suspect it was more a case of trying to provide a clear 
analog to HTML A element--in my experience, having spent the last 15 
years thinking very deeply about hypertext, is that most people don't 
think very deeply about hyperlinking and the sort of nutty issues David 
has exposed that you get when you mix the abstract representation of 
links with concrete renditions and user interfaces--when the focus is 
formatting the details of link behavior usually get less attention than 
they should--this is just normal human nature).

It is a complex issue and there are no clear answers when you start 
asking the deeper questions that David is asking. However, I think that 
XSL Formatter's behavior is closer to what most users would intuitively 
expect, even if it can lead to non-sensical results in some use cases.

For example, in my button example, I would expect that the entire 
button, including the borders and padding, would be part of the hot 
region, not just the text, which I could get by putting the basic-link 
inside the block-container.

Cheers,

E.\
-- 
W. Eliot Kimber, eliot at isogen.com
Consultant, ISOGEN International

1016 La Posada Dr., Suite 240
Austin, TX  78752 Phone: 512.656.4139

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