Accessibility - Web Standards: Mastering HTML5, CSS3, and XML - page 347

The accessibility of dynamic contents and advanced user interfaces developed in a combination of HTML,
JavaScript, Ajax, and other technologies is defined by the collection of specifications released by the Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI) at the W3C. This collection is known as the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite , which includes
the following documents [13]:

• WAI-ARIA technical specification : Accessibility tips for the authors and editors of web
standards, as well as developers of user agents and accessibility evaluation tools [14]

• WAI-ARIA Primer : The technical approach of WAI-ARIA with detailed descriptions of
accessibility problems that can be solved by applying WAI-ARIA [15]

• WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices : A practical guideline for developers about accessible rich
Internet applications developed using WAI-ARIA [16]

• WAI-ARIA User Agent Implementation Guide : Accessibility requirements for user agents [17]

Standards such as Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), which is an XML markup for
describing multimedia presentations [18], or the Timed Text Markup Language (TTML), which provides text in
synchrony with media such as video [19], can also be used to improve site accessibility.

WCAG 1.0
The first version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0) became a W3C Recommendation in 1999
with the slogan “how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities.” WCAG 1.0 consists of fourteen
guidelines [20]:

1. Equivalent alternatives must be provided for auditory and visual content.

2. Information expressed in colors must also be available and perceivable without colors.

3. Markup and style sheets must be applied properly.

4. The natural language(s) of web documents must be declared.

5. Tables must be created in a way that they transform gracefully.

6. Pages that apply new technologies must transform gracefully.

7. User control must be provided for time-sensitive content changes.

8. Direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces must be ensured.

9. Web site design must be device-independent.

10. Interim solutions must be used.

11. W3C technologies and guidelines must be applied.

12. Information must be provided on context and orientation.

13. Navigation must be easy-to-understand.

14. Documents must be clear and simple.