Implication of @pgwide="1" for HTML

[Eliot Kimber <ekimber@contrext.com>]

The DITA 1.2 spec has this statement in the description of @pgwide in the
reference entry for <table>

"For XHTML, the table surrounds the
table data. Either value sets the table
width to 100%."

I'm currently implementing improved HTML table generation for the OT and
it seems inappropriate (and unnecessary) to mandate that HTML tables
always have a width of 100%.

I'm sure this language simply reflects the original IBM implementation of
HTML generation, but as it currently exists this is a normative statement
that appears to require presenting HTML tables at 100% width.

I would recommend either removing this statement entirely or making it a
non-normative presentation suggestion.

In any case, I'm sure that many HTML renderings of DITA tables do not in
fact make the tables 100% wide, so this is an unenforced or unenforceable
rule.

Cheers,

E.

—————
Eliot Kimber, Owner
Contrext, LLC
http://contrext.com