Ozob the Great wrote:
Sorry, mail client trouble. Here is the complete message.
On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 6:29 AM, Henri Sivonen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote:
The use cases for <var> probably aren't strong enough to warrant its
addition to HTML at this stage if it hadn't been in HTML
already--you might as well use <i>. However, given that <var> has
already been in HTML for a long time, it probably isn't harmful
enough to make it non-conforming. Actually, its main harm is the
opportunity cost of the debates about when it's appropriate to use
it. :-/
I agree making <var> non-conforming is inappropriate.
Let me make a specific and concrete proposal. 4.6.14 should be changed
to read as follows:
The var element represents a variable. This could be an actual variable
in a programming context, or it could be a term used as a placeholder in
prose. Use of var in a mathematical context is deprecated in favor of
MathML content markup.
What benefit does that bring to anyone, if all they want to do is to
mark up a mathematical variable very simply in text? Also, what does
deprecated mean here? --it's certainly at no risk of being removed in
the future.
If anything, it would be more helpful for the text to be "If you wish to
mark up complex mathematical content, then MathML is more suitable than
the var element.".
