The V&A's collections search uses a dropdown menu to select BC/AD on the date fields: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/
There is no standard way to do this so you'll find that each institution, with a searchable historical collection online, has probably implemented searching by year in its own fashion. I can see the value in agreeing on some standardised way of entering historical years into forms. Jim (National Maritime Museum/Royal Observatory Greenwich) Original Message: ----------------- The field being four digits long doesn't restrict its contents to four digits only. I suppose you do raise an interesting concern; should the "year" field also permit the entry of BC/AD? If so, that might invalidate the ability to use a number field; you'd need to use a validation pattern on a standard text field. �Kit On 09/08/2010, at 10:46 AM, Andy Mabbett wrote: > > On Mon, August 9, 2010 00:44, Kit Grose wrote: >> How is a "year" input any different from a four-digit input type="number" >> field? > > Years can be more of fewer than four digits. Julius Caesar was born in 100 > BC, for instance, while Manius Acilius Glabrio was consul in 91 AD. > > -- > Andy Mabbett > @pigsonthewing > http://pigsonthewing.org.uk > -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://link.mail2web.com/mail2web
