Review - lineOffset set.

[Robert Orosz <roboro@auto-trol.com>]

All,

Below is my review of the lineOffset test.

Regards,

Rob
Summary
This test is not acceptable as it stands. There are issues with both the
HTML markup and WebCGM profile, vide infra, but more importantly, I don't
think the image as it stands makes a good test.
Details
The image consists of six groups of four lines. Each group has four lines
with the line type and all other line attributes held constant, and the Line
Type Initial Offset (LTIO) is varied with values of 0.0, 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75
in each group. That is a good test. However, of the six groups, four use the
standard line types 2, 3, 4, and 5. The exact rendering of these line types
is implementation dependent. Therefore, any offset into the pattern no
matter how precisely defined, will also be implementation dependent.
The last two groups use Line and Edge Type defined line types. This is good,
in fact I think sufficient for this test. I would like to see the image
scaled a little larger, so it is easier to see. My suggestion would be to
arrange the lines in each of the two test groups vertically across the
entire image. Two or three pattern cycles should be sufficient for users to
get the idea.
The lines are pretty thick, just over 3.5 points. Looking at the PNG image
in both Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7 gives the impression
that there are multiple line widths in the drawing, which is not the case. I
would try much thinner lines, e.g. 00 or 000 points.
There is no explanation in the image of exactly what the purpose of the red
lines are. The long one obviously marks the origin of each of the lines in
the test group, but there is no explanation of the purpose of the shorter
lines. Looking closely, I see that they are spaced at dash cycle repeat
length intervals. Instead of that, I think it would be more useful to have a
line at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the first dash cycle repeat length. In
other words, each line would mark the beginning of the first complete
pattern cycle after the origin for one of the lines in the group. They could
be labeled and/or color-coded, so their purpose is clear.
Finally, I would like to see a little more explanation in the HTML about
what exactly is being tested and what to look for in a successful, i.e.
passing, test.
HTML Markup Violations
There are several issues with the HTML markup that must be addressed; e.g.
there is a CAPTION element as a direct child of the BODY. This element is
only allowed as a child of TABLE (see
http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/struct/tables.html#edef-CAPTION).
WebCGM 2.0 Profile Violations
There are two profile violations that must be addressed:
1) The CGM contains a Text Precision element with a value of string (0).
WebCGM (see T.20.11) only allows a value of stroke (2).
2) The CGM does not have a Character Set List element in the Metafile
Descriptor section. WebCGM (see T.16.14) requires this element for all
metafiles containing graphical text.

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