Re: <select>

Craig Hubley (craig@passport.ca)
Wed, 12 Apr 95 18:31:02 EDT

> > > Why isn't a nested <select> implemented?

Although it's a common enough feature on all GUI interfaces that support
menus at all, it falls a little short of being totally universal or easy
to support in text based browsers. I don't have an issue with it, as
long as it leaves open the possibility of implementing as pie menus, voice
mail menus, or other user interfaces that are not necessarily common yet.

> > > i.e. popup pull right menus?
> > > e.g.
> > > <select>
> > > <option>ice cream<select>
> > > <option>chocolate
> > > <option>vanilla<select>
> <option>plain
> <option>french
> </select>
> > > <option>strawberry
> </select>
> > > <option>cake<select>
> > > <option>pound
> > > <option>devil's food
> </select>
> > > <option>soda
> > > </select>

This doesn't look too bad. I like the idea of having one <select> rather
than <select2> etc... the nesting can be implicit. However, there may be
an SGML reason why not to force the parser to discern that tags are nested.
We were just discussing SGML compliance issues in HTML, someone care to
comment ?

> > > Believe it or not I have a real need to implement a set of nested choices
> > > in a form that cannot be done any other way.

Uh oh, more stuff that 'cannot be done any other way'. There is always a way.
Maybe not the most convenient, but always a way.

> > > Is this a difficult thing to do? nobody has given me an answer to this one
> > > and it seems like such a common task.

I don't know if it's difficult. It may be difficult to do in a way that is
SGML compliant. You are getting dangerously close to requiring very specific
presentation capabilities that are beyond the ability of certain user interface
paradigms... I don't think you're over that line yet but you're close. I still
think HTML has a hope of being comprehensible by programs running in text mode
on 286s (lynx is still very useful to me), so I am wary of such proposals.
--
Craig Hubley Business that runs on knowledge
Craig Hubley & Associates needs software that runs on the net
craig@passport.ca 416-778-6136 416-778-1965 FAX
Seventy Eaton Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4J 2Z5