Posted by chromatic_aberration on 02/03/06 17:42

Jukka K. Korpela wrote:

> chromatic_aberration wrote:
>
>> I think one could also argue for the use of a definition list, for
>> about the same reasons:
>
> You could, but you would be wrong.
>

When it comes to "definition lists", I would take that chance!

>> <dl class="address">
>> <dt>Addressee</dt>
>
> You are not defining the meaning of the term "addressee". If you were,
> you would have something like
> <dd>the person to whom a letter or other message is addressed</dd>
>

That's not really the point either. You're being a bit too literal in
your understanding of the DL element...
When you look at the W3C spec, it states a.o.:

"Another application of DL, for example, is for marking up dialogues,
with each DT naming a speaker, and each DD containing his or her words."

(BTW, notice "for example"...)

Now, consider the following code:

<dl>
<dt>Polonius</dt>
<dd>This above all: to thine own self be true...</dd>
</dl>

According to your understanding, the sentence "This above all: to thine
own self be true" should define the term "Polonius"... which obviously
is not the case!
Still, the code is perfectly valid according to W3C's own recommendation.

Besides, DL is only required to contain at least *one* DT _or_ *one* DD,
which (in the case of a single DT or DD) would be hardly sufficient to
qualify the markup as defining anything...

Obviously, DL is mostly a way to provide a plain list, with 2 levels of
indentation and possibly a certain degree of relationship/hierarchy
between items. Despite the name...

Some have gone so far as to use DLs to build most of a whole site:
http://www.jasoncartwright.com/blog/entry/2005/10/why_a_divless_page

I've been using them mostly to make navigation lists (menus), as they
make nice containers which are easier to style than ULs. And I can use
DLs as titles for groups of links, without having to wrap Hns and ULs in
a DIV...
The introduction of the NL element in XHTML 2, which can be regarded as
a further development of the DL, indicates that I haven't been
completely wrong in that matter... either!

--
cheers
/chromatic_aberration

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