Practical Use of Definitions
Unlike HTML which begins with no assumptions on what a tag means, Semantic definitions begins with some baseline assumptions. A "standard" element describes in css a neutral form of an element with the most common qualities.
Most designers can intuit "appropriate design" through their own experience with design, but it is critical for a program to be able to define these parameters explicitly for a computer.
You may be able to say things like in most cases "a button is clickable", "a button is slightly rounded", or "a button has padding slightly smaller than its type face". Together an approximation of these averages creates a prototype case which is codified as css properties in Semantic's default theme.
User interface elements most often exist with differences from a standard form. Semantic uses special names for describing these modifications to an element's standard form.
Types are mutually exclusive forms of an element. Just like a pet cannot be both a "cat" and a "dog", types of ui elements, like a vertical menu or a tiered menu are mutually exclusive.
Variations are modifications to an element that are not mutually exclusive. These are similar in concept to grammatical modifiers and can be strung together with other modifiers.
So for example a button may be "large or small", "colored", "show primacy on a page", "have an icon", "be animated".
States are modifications to a UI element which show a change in its condition. S
States can be used to indicate changes like: "is hidden", "should appear unmodifiable", "should indicate a user must wait".
This translation is only % complete!
We need your help to make Semantic available to people who speak your language.
Our translation tools are easy to use and allow you to translate text without having to leave the site. If you are interested in joining our translation team please e-mail me for access to our translation hub.
