[html5] Appropriate markup for index documents

[Andrew Croce]

I have been wondering about this for a while now, and I've finally gotten
around to writing up the question:

What is the appropriate semantic container element (if any) for an index
document?

It seems to me that there is a gap in the semantic options for marking up
index, or list, pages. Now, to be clear I realize there are list elements,
but these are strictly for marking up the specific set of listed items.
However, a list may have a larger context, which I am calling an index.

Like an article, an index might have a header and footer, and should
probably contain a <ul> or <ol> where the items are listed. What comes to
mind is something like a catalog, where the list itself has some meta
information, and could itself contain sections or navigation. An <article>
seems inappropriate since that should, I believe, be a single piece of
content. A <section> also seems inappropriate in itself, unless its part of
an even larger context. It could just be a <div>, or nothing at all, but I
feel like there is some semantic value being missed.

So then, why is there no <index> element? I would be super curious to hear
everyone's thoughts on this.

-- 
Andrew Croce
andrew.croce at gmail.com
andrewcroce.com
732.995.0590
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