[whatwg] Two feature-suggestions for HTML5 (forms)

[Giovanni Campagna]

Please don't cross-post to w3 lists and to whatwg lists.

2009/6/8 Asser Nilsson <asser.nilsson at googlemail.com>:
> Hi!
>
> There are two things in HTML5-forms that are often made with "Active"
> Technology like JavaScript, that would be very cool, if HTML5 could do
> these things without Scripting:
>
> 1. I've seen this at the online-dictionary dict.leo.org: they made a
> JavaScript-function, that you can type the word to translate without
> the text-box marked an the characters get in there. So, you don't have
> to mark the right textbox before you type, but you can type, no matter
> to look, if the box is marked. I think it would be a very nice feature
> for HTML5-forms if this would work without Scripting... E.g. an option
> for text-fields, that everythins typed on this site is typed into this
> field (even if it is not highlighted).

What about setting the "autofocus" attribute on the page?
Keys have various meaning in various points of the page and you should
not change that, but you can get the equivalent effect (user doesn't
have to click on the textbox).

> 2. In search-boxes Javascript often is used for send every written
> character to the server and the server return search-suggestions
> "as-you-type". If this is possible without Scripting only with
> HTML/CSS this would be very cool.

It is possible to do this with XForms, I guess. That is not exactly
"declarative" but has less problems that pure Javascript (if you don't
think that XForms is mainly implemented as Javascript, of couse)

> Of course, there are things where you need Scripting, but such basic
> features should be possible without scripting, only with HTML/CSS.
> (Many people deactivate Scripting.)
>
> Sorry for my bad english, but I really think these two things would be
> very nice features for coming versions of HTML.
>
> Greetings,
> Asser Nilsson
>
>
>

Giovanni