James M Snell wrote:
> David Powell wrote:
> > Constructive criticism now - could you explain this:
> >
> > Implementers are reminded that unexpected results could occur when
> > using both the "dir" attribute and the Unicode control characters
> > within a single document.
> >
> > Isn't using both the expected, and only, way to mark-up
> > bidi text when the Unicode heuristics won't do a good enough job?
> > It seems a bit odd to warn against using the feature as intended?
>
> No, both should not be used.
>
> >> Third, neither Unicode or the W3C recommend using the Unicode bidi
> >> formatting codes are not recommended in markup, for a variety of
> >> reasons.
> >
> > True, but I'm not sure I'd describe a plain text element content or
> > attribute value as markup. Isn't markup something that could
> > alternatively contain tags, and be "marked-up"? Given that these
> > locations can't, the Unicode bidi codes will need to be used
> > regardless, so I'm not sure whether those recommendations
> apply here?
> >
>
> The markup in question here are the Atom elements. In other
> words, the bidi formatting characters should not be used in
> XML, period, not just within specific kinds of elements.
>
Even the W3C recommends Unicode control characters in some situations;
see [1]. I don't know why those W3C guidelines regarding markup vs.
formatting codes are different from [2], but the use of Unicode bidi
formatting characters in Atom is also reinforced by the language in [3]:
"Other situations where control characters may provide the only resort
are elements that only allow character content or that omit support for
directional attributes." IMO, that is exactly the case that Atom fits
into, since RFC4287 has no BIDI features built in.
[1] Internationalization Best Practices: Handling Right-to-left Scripts
in XHTML and HTML Content
http://www.w3.org/TR/i18n-html-tech-bidi/#ri20030218.135304584
[2] Unicode in XML and other Markup Languages
http://www.w3.org/TR/unicode-xml/
[3] FAQ: Unicode controls vs. markup for bidi support
http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-bidi-controls.en.php#proble
ms
- Brian
