The TC hasn't discussed this yet, but I'll point out a couple of things that will be part of the discussion.
The <msgph> element is specialized from the base element <ph>. The spec doesn't mandate what to do with space in either element. Processors are free to normalize space (or not) when processing the element. If you're getting unwanted newlines, this may be an issue for the processor.
For <msgblock>, that element is specialized from the base element <pre>. To make <title> legal inside of <msgblock>, I think we'd have to do one of the following:
A) Make titles legal inside the base element <pre>. This is backwards compatible, but the TC has generally been wary of adding titles to new base elements.
B) Because we're allowed to break compatibility in 2.0, we could change the specialization base to something like <section> that already allows titles. However, this sort of change would have an effect on where the <msgblock> element is allowed. (I pick section because it allows titles and plain text, but some other element might also be possible.)
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Kristen James Eberlein ---11/30/2016 04:00:26 PM---Thanks, Shane. I'll add this item to the TC agenda. When the TC discusses it, I (or another voting mFrom: Kristen James Eberlein <kris@eberleinconsulting.com>
To: dita-comment@lists.oasis-open.org
Date: 11/30/2016 04:00 PM
Subject: Re: [dita-comment] UI Messages With Titles: DITA Spec Modernization
Thanks, Shane.
I'll add this item to the TC agenda. When the TC discusses it, I (or another voting member of the DITA TC) will respond on this list with information about the resolution.
Best,
Kris
Kristen James Eberlein
Chair, OASIS DITA Technical Committee
Principal consultant, Eberlein Consulting
www.eberleinconsulting.com
+1 919 682-2290; kriseberlein (skype)
On 11/30/2016 4:57 PM, Shane Taylor wrote:
- The DITA spec includes both <msgph> and <msgblock> elements for the content of software application messages, but two aspects of these elements' definitions seem to hark back to text-only interfaces and don't work well for modern GUI or web-based applications.
First, both elements preserve whitespace, with no option to treat whitespace normally. Modern UI messages typically don't care about whitespace, so it's restrictive and incorrect that this content model forces users to preserve whitespace.
Second, <msgblock> does not allow a <title>. Many modern messages include a title followed by descriptive text.
I would love the DITA-TC to consider these two issues for the next iteration of the spec. Both enhancements should easily be backward-compatible.
Shane Taylor
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