[whatwg] Decimal comma in numeric input

Jukka K. Korpela jkorpela at cs.tut.fi
Sun Apr 17 23:26:08 PDT 2011


Aryeh Gregor wrote:

> On Sat, Apr 16, 2011 at 9:18 AM, Jukka K. Korpela
> <jkorpela at cs.tut.fi> wrote:
>> An element for user input of a real number in a format that uses a
>> suitable decimal separator is hardly a "specific need".
>
> It's more specific than just an element for user input of a number.

This isn't a matter of being more or less specific. It's about adequacy of a 
concept and acceptability of implementations. Formally, one might say that 
specifications can define just the internal format and leave the rest to 
implementors, but that's not a reasonable approach.

> The current specification is perfectly sufficient for many use-cases -- at
> a minimum, English-language sites.

My original observation was that Google Chrome accepts a number with decimal 
comma. It does that quite independently of the language. As far as 
specifications go, it could just as well _only_ accept decimal comma. Would 
that be perfectly suitable?

> If there's author demand for
> control over decimal separators, a new CSS property is probably the
> right way to do it,

No, this is not about optional presentational suggestions concerning the 
rendering of documents. It's about processing of input data.

> Something that allows the author to specify what decimal separator is
> used would certainly be "more features".

I wasn't saying that authors should be able to specify what decimal 
separator is used. I discussed the need for addressing the decimal separator 
issue and at least specifying _how_ it is decided on. Then authors would 
know what to expect when they use <input type="number">.

-- 
Yucca, http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/ 




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