[html5] Appropriate markup for index documents

[Andrew Croce]

So what I was considering is something like a catalog…

<index> <!— What element should this be? —>
	<header>
		<h1>Catalog of Items</h1>
		<p>A description of the catalog...</p>
	</header>

	<nav>{some filters, perhaps}</nav>
	
	<ol>
		<li>Catalogued item #1</li>
		<li>Catalogued item #2</li>
		<li>Catalogued item #3</li>
		...
	</ol>

</index>


I suppose you could possibly argue that a <dl> might satisfy the semantics, though it wouldn’t really be a definition LIST, just sort of a highly abstracted definition… a stretch, I think. Also, its not clear how sectioning algorithms would handle the scope of a headings, for instance, in the context of a <dl>.

<dl>
	<dt>
		<header>
			<h1>Catalog of Items</h1>
			<p>A description of the catalog...</p>
		</header>
		<nav>{some filters, perhaps}</nav>
	</dt>

	<dd>
		<ol>
			<li>Catalogued item #1</li>
			<li>Catalogued item #2</li>
			<li>Catalogued item #3</li>
			...
		</ol>
	</dd>
</dl>

Andrew

> On Dec 24, 2014, at 3:26 AM, Not Telling <binderbound at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Misspelt help
> 
> From: binderbound at hotmail.com <mailto:binderbound at hotmail.com>
> To: andrew.croce at gmail.com <mailto:andrew.croce at gmail.com>
> CC: hep at whatwg.org <mailto:hep at whatwg.org>
> Subject: RE: [html5] Appropriate markup for index documents
> Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 19:23:42 +1100
> 
> Hi Andrew
> I believe a description list <dl> (previously definition list) would be the closest fit to what you describe. It has two accepted child elements - definition term <dt> to declare the term being defined and definition description <dd> which describes the term it follows. The page you describe would be the <dt> and a description od the page, or another sub-index for that term would fit under <dd>. Nesting gives you some degree of "sectioning" but not exactly in the way you want, I expect. Could you give a specific example of the usage you are talking about? Use invented elements if you want - I'm just unsure exactly what you mean.
> 
> Luke
> 
> From: andrew.croce at gmail.com <mailto:andrew.croce at gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 11:14:37 -0500
> To: help at whatwg.org <mailto:help at whatwg.org>
> Subject: [html5] Appropriate markup for index documents
> 
> 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 <mailto:andrew.croce at gmail.com>
> andrewcroce.com <http://andrewcroce.com/>
> 732.995.0590
> 
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