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W3C Roadmap for ARIA… and beyondRich SchwerdtfegerIBM Distinguished Engineer, Chair W3C WAI PF ARIA Subteam

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Web 2.0 Paradigm Shift Rich desktop-like experience through

the browser AJAX reduces page reloads

Tie UI to back-end services

Content aggregation from various resources (Mashups)

Social Collaboration

Potential for increased usability

Accessibility requires anunderstanding of GUI accessibility

Static Documents

New Content = Page Reload

Navigation limited to tab and click

Poor Usability for PWDs

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What is the ARIA Roadmap?• A comprehensive gap analysis covering

the interoperability between Web Content and ATs

• Plans/technologies/specifications used to fill the gaps

• A common strategy for W3C/Industry to collaborate on the problem

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Accessibility API defines a standard contract between an application component and an assistive technology

AssistiveTechnology

AssistiveTechnology

RoleStatesActionsCaretSelectionTextHypertextValueNameDescriptionChildrenChangesRelations

ACCESSIBLE

UIComponent

Data

UI

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In any object-based accessibility architecture, Assistive Technologies (AT)'s communicate with all objects to render an accessible view

Assistive Technology

Text

Button

Menu Item

Frame

AccessibleApplication Components

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The Roadmap Promise

Competitive look/feel in Web Application widgets Feel like an installed GUI Application

Improved usability through improved keyboard navigation

Full-function interoperability with assistive technologies

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Why you need it?

Competitive look/feel should work like platform GUI

That kind of interaction in Web pages requires scriptingand styling

Scripting breaks communication with AT through APIs (unless…)

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Problem Analysis shows opportunity for richer accessibility

HTML Accessibility depends on tag names (mixing content and presentation)

JavaScript creates custom widgets using HTML, user input, and CSS changing their meaning and purpose within a Web application

HTML lacks the accessibility meta data to support accessibility APIs for repurposed HTML content

Keyboard usability for PWDs is poor Almost totally dependent on tabbing Non anchors/form elements can’t receive

focus (W3C HTML browser implementation oversight)

Users needs keyboard navigation and widget behavior like a GUI

User needs consistent navigation landmark semantics to reduce usability problem

AT

*Role*States*ActionsCaretSelectionText

Hypertext*ValueNameDescription*Children*Relations

CONTRACT

DocumentElement

Data

UI

JavaScript is the controller

-Manipulates the data (DOM)-Manipulates the content

-Manipulates the style (UI)-Event Driven

- Produces Custom Widgets

Browser map to DOM/Accessibility API

AT

*Role*States*ActionsCaretSelectionText

Hypertext*ValueNameDescription*Children*Relations

CONTRACT

DocumentElement

Data

UI

JavaScript is the controller

-Manipulates the data (DOM)-Manipulates the content

-Manipulates the style (UI)-Event Driven

- Produces Custom Widgets

Browser map to DOM/Accessibility API

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Repurposed HTML lacks semantics and ability to give focusexample: menu wanna be

Accessibility Problems

Can’t get here effectively with the keyboard

Don’t know a menu has been activated

Usability poor as does not behave like a menu

Usability Problem extends beyond accessibility

Alternative content is expensive

The “Rich Internet Application Accessibility Problem”

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Information as seen by Assistive Technology today(if the user could get to Top Stories)

“The Contract” AT Access to Accessible Application

Role (what it is)

May throw this away

State

Name Non - deterministic

Actions

Parent

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Dependence on excessive tabbing makes keyboard access unusable

Accessibility/Usability Problems

Portal keyboard usability a problem To get to Market report you need to tab through every link on the page

Alternatives are a hack to code sections as headers restricting UI or assign access keys

Alternative is inconsistent across web sites

Alternative provides little semantic information

Use of keyboard short cut (Access Key) introduces device dependencies

Document Navigation Problem

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Filling the gaps XHTML 1.X (Extensibility through use of XML namespaces) New States and Properties Module for Accessible Rich Internet Applications

(WAI-ARIA States and Properties) XHTML Role attribute module

Role attribute Common landmarks (navigation, search, main, secondary, note, seealso, contentinfo, search, banner)

States (checked, expandable, selected) and Properties (describedBy, controllerFor, live) TABINDEX modification allowing script to set focus on all elements with or without effecting tab order)

New Roles for Accesible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA Roles) Role (button, tabpanel, grid, etc.)

Work with User Agents (Industry) make work with ATs Map new meta data to Accessibility API Implement (TABINDEX=-1) to support focus to non-anchor and form elements

<div tabindex=“-1” role = wairole:menuitem waistate:disabled=“true”>

Leading to broader industry curb cuts SVG accessibility Device Independence (Content adaptation for devices)

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New Information as seen by Assistive Technology

“The Contract” AT Access to Accessible Application

New accessibility Information

Role Menu Item

State Selected

Name Top Stories

Actions

None

Parent Menu

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Role Taxonomy – Innovation allows for extensibility

• Taxonomy of Roles– Widgets (grid, menu, spinbutton, etc.)– Structure (group, presentation, application, td, th)

• RDF/OWL Class hierarchy

• Roles define properties

• Allow for custom componentry

• Allow for future discovery

• Allow for future adaptation

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States and Properties for ARIAs

Typical widget states checked, selected, disabled, currentvalue, expanded, etc.

Relationships describeby, controls, flowto, labeledby, owns

New AJAX properties live (off, polite, assertive, rude) relevant (additions, deletions, text, all) atomic

Miscellaneous sort (ascending, descending) setsize, posinset Datatype

role

tabindex

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Demo

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Assembling the parts to help developer and user

Reusable, Accessible Component Libraries ● Producing RIAs (Dojo, Rational JWL, Oracle)● W3C has HTML implementation technique for XHTML standard

Browser support Firefox 1.5, 2.0 (Window-Eyes support)

Firefox 3.0 to support full spec. (Windows and Linux)

MS IE members have joined WAI PF working group

ATV support Window-Eyes, JAWS 8 beta for FF 1.5/2.0

ZoomText in progress

Tools● University of Illinois Mozilla/Firefox Accessibility Extension● Eventually – IBM Model-based authoring tools● IBM Research - RAVEN

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Roadmap – Declarative Markup Opportunities

XForms – Inherent accessibility features results in smaller footprint Standard data model from which many states and properties can be mapped automatically by the

browser

Support for hint text, labels, descriptions

Declarative markup means less code goes to client

XML Events and Handlers – allow for named actions Declarative way for defining events and handlers

Handlers can be named to map to action accessibility API

XHTML 2 access element Offers device independent alternative to access key

Offers semantic navigation using roles

Allows for a degree of backward compatability

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Current Legislation says You will turn off JavaScript and CSS!(JavaScript/CSS is on over 50% of all web pages)

Not happening; usable access is too important!

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JavaScript/CSS adoption impacts compliance strategy while standards/legislation adapt

• Some Geos still follow WCAG 1.0– Run with JavaScript and CSS disabled– Decision based on 1999 browser technology

• U.S. 508 says run without CSS

• Forcing some companies to provide alternative content

• New 508/WCAG 2.0 focus on – Interoperability, usability vs.

technology exclusion– Harmonization between web, rich GUI

• Legislation temporarily impacting business decisions

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Going beyond current W3C standards • Consistent keyboard style guide

• Accessibility API Enhancements– Rich document editing

– Exposure of taxonomy class information

• Personalization– New IMS Global Learning Consortium standards

(ACCMD and ACCLIP specs.)

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References

W3C Roadmap and Standards http://www.w3.org/wai/pf

Examples http://webally.com

http://www.weba11y.com/AjaxDemo/sample.html

http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Accessible_DHTML

http://firefox.cita.uiuc.edu/test/dhtml/src/index.php

Tooling in development U. of Illinois extension

http://firefox.cita.uiuc.edu/dhtml/download.php

RAVENhttp://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/raven

WAI Role Taxonomy extension tool

http://test2.ubapps.com/RolesWebApp/roles/start

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