Re: [docbook] Re: [docbook-apps] Re: Tables, braille and other stuff

[Stefan Seefeld <seefeld@sympatico.ca>]

Dave Pawson wrote:

 >> > Suggestion.
 >> >   Ask the person next to you to describe the data in the table
 >> > you come across.
 >>
 >> Hm, what do you mean by "describe" ?  Have him produce an audio
 >> rendering of the table, or have him abstract information from the
 >> table ?
 >
 >
 > Have him/her provide you with a description of the information contained
 > within the table, such that you understood it. Not its tabular layout,
 > just the information contained.
 >   This is the 'pretend' to be blind, which I am told is useful.... and
 > was for me.

well, abstracting away the presentational aspect of a table, what
remains is a set of items in relation to two axis. Someone mentioned '2
dimensional array' which you object to as being 'programming oriented'.
I can't see that, it's of course a vocabulary from CS but otherwise
to the point: instead of lists (orderdlist, itemizedlist, etc.) what
is needed is a way to relate items not to one axis but to two (or more).

In the case of two the visual rendering is natually done with a table.
But the semantic is still that of a container of items 'linked' to
two axis. So, how can this best be expressed with docbook ?

Since tables are already present, in an otherwise presentation-agnostic
world, I can see how people want to use it for just that.

Regards,
		Stefan