[whatwg] Re: ISO 639 / ISO 3166 / ISO 4217 inputs

[Ave Wrigley]

> Ian Hickson writes:
> > The problem is that even if the list is updated, the UAs aren't. If 
> > this
> > had been done from the start, people using IE2 would have ancient
> > country 
> > lists, and there would be little that page authors could do about it.
> 
> I'd just like to note that both IE and Mozilla do actually contain an
> ISO639 list, for specifying values for Accept-Language. Mozilla also contains
> an ISO3166 list, which, IIRC, is used in concert with the ISO639 list. 

Is it feasible to have the UEs update their lists dynamically? The ISO
lists are hosted in a (fairly) reliable place. After all, this sort of
thing is done for referencing standard DTDs in non-standalone XML pages.

> However, there's a difference between placing a country/language/region 
> dialog in an esoteric corner of preferences, where you might expect that 
> users could enter their language code (en-gb-hixie?) by hand if
> necessary, and forcing it directly onto forms for all users. 

again ... you are not forcing it anywhere! If you want to build your own
country list in a form, that's fine. If you are happy to have a list
built for you based on whatever the current ISO standard is, then this
input help you to do so.

> > Also, note that vendors typically want to stay WELL away from 
> > specifying stuff like this.

... which is why you specify it in term of an international standard,
and sidestep the responsibility ;-)

-- 
Ave Wrigley, Head of Development, ITN New Media
200 Grays Inn Rd, Tel: +44-20-7430-4719
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