BearState - 2013-11-26

Further architectural considerations delve deeper into the functionality that must be added to the web core rendering engine logic. Some of these considerations at present do not have a resolution. Care must be taken to implement architecture so that it supports the objectives of the second follow-on project, AA-SWAB. 

1)    If Wixel-SMEN can be turned on or off, how?   Is this limited to developers or should the browser interface have an option to allow users to turn it on and off?

2)  If only the developer can turn on or off Wixel-SMEN, how?   Via a CSS directive?  Via a markup meta tag?  Via an attribute?   Via Javascript?   Other?    On by default and turned off by some means?

3)  How is an entry-point Wixel Specified or Determined?   Screen-size?   Header element?  Logo?  Developer specified?

4)  Passive and Non-Passive CSS need to be clarified.  There is no current distinguishing characteristic as CSS has normally not been required to turn on or off other functionality or over-ride specific functionality.

Basic Wixel rendering is preferentially sized to fit screen width and is allowed to overflow height. However, defining certain wixels which may overflow both height and width should be possible and indeed, may not be avoidable. Support for responsive web capabilities must be regarded a key element of the Wixel-SMEN web core architecture. In this regard, a wixel is a container and must be viewed as supporting web page characteristics, liquid, jello and ice. It is preferred to support fully liquid rendering, but wixels should be capable of jello and ice renderings. Again, the alternates to fully liquid renderings may not be avoidable in some cases and effect overflows, especially width overflows. Compared to the Grid concept used in extant responsive web techniques, wixels are natural grid-like boxes, but are independent of a fixed grid.

Non-passive CSS may now be defined as any CSS rules which instantiate non-liquid renderings, those that will cause overflows, and resizing issues with images, canvases, videos and other objects. Most especially, font-sizing and weighting are of particular concern regarding non-passive CSS. In normal markup renderings, fonts do not resize. In the liquid rendering of wixels, they must. Absolute vs. Relative positioning and floating markup objects become important. Consider a horizontal suckerfish menu for example. On a large browser screen, the horizontal menu appears fully horizontal, but on a smaller screen, it either overflows width or if fluid with menu items floated right, it can change appearance and become a vertical menu.

Wixels will have certain fixed rules, but in most cases, wixel rendering rules are standard markup rules.

Wixels are of course, a focus object for on screen navigations.