w3c / w3c/csswg-drafts

[css-tables-3] Question about column measure computation

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Description

In the section Computing Column Measures under the heading min-content width of a column based on cells of span up to N (N > 1) step 1 is:

  1. Define the baseline min-content width as the sum of the max-content widths based on cells of span up to N-1 of all columns that the cell spans.

Note that this is the same definition of baseline max-content width under the heading max-content width of a column based on cells of span up to N (N > 1):

  1. Define the baseline max-content width as the sum of the max-content widths based on cells of span up to N-1 of all columns that the cell spans.

In addition, in step 3 of min-content width of a column based on cells of span up to N (N > 1) the specification reads:

  1. The contribution of the cell is the sum of:
    • the min-content width of the column based on cells of span up to N-1
    • the product of:
      • the ratio of:
        • the max-content width of the column based on cells of span up to N-1 of the column minus the min-content width of the column based on cells of span up to N-1 of the column, to
        • the baseline max-content width minus the baseline min-content width

          or zero if this ratio is undefined, and
    • the outer min-content width of the cell minus the baseline min-content width and the baseline border spacing, clamped to be at least 0 and at most the difference between the baseline max-content width and the baseline min-content width

Yet, if the second term in the product is a ratio with a denominator that is baseline max-content width minus baseline min-content width and both of those have the same definition, the ratio will always be undefined. Could it be that the true definition of baseline min-content width should be as follows?

  1. Define the baseline min-content width as the sum of the min-content widths based on cells of span up to N-1 of all columns that the cell spans.

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Read the CSS Tables 3 “Computing Column Measures” section, especially the min-content and max-content width subsections linked in the issue. Compare the two baseline definitions and the ratio in step 3, then check the CSS Working Group discussion for the intended wording. Done means the specification resolves the ambiguity and makes the ratio meaningful, or explicitly explains why the existing definition is correct.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
css
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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