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Comment #00170 - Add support for CALS table model - z39-96-dsftu-final.pdf

Comment 170
New (Unresolved)
NISO Z39.96-201x, JATS: Journal Article Tag Suite (Draft Standard for Trial Use) (Revision 0)
Comment Submitted by
Nikos Markantonatos
2011-09-29 23:54:20
Current description of the JATS Tag Suite does not include a reference to the OASIS CALS table model. There is only a vague reference in the Scope section which claims that the OASIS CALS table model is a separate standard referenced in section 4, but section 4 does not include any reference to it nonetheless.

On the other hand, both XHTML and MathML which are also separate standards, not only do they appear in the list of references of section 4, but they are also included in the JATS Tag Suite. For example, all XHTML table model elements, like <table>, <thead>, <tbody>, <col>, <colgroup>, <tr>, <td>, etc, along with their attributes are explicitly included in the list of Tag Suite elements and attributes (sections 5.1 & 5.2). However, this is not the case with the OASIS CALS table model elements and attributes. This seems to imply a clear preference on the table model, which is probably not the NISO standard's role to promote.

Even for MathML, the top-level element <mml:math> is included in the JATS Tag Suite elements, whereas there is no reference at all for the top-level CALS element <oasis:table> or any of its sub-elements.

This seems to constitute a discrimination against the CALS model, despite the fact that a significant subset of the NLM XML back content chooses to use this table model rather than the XHTML model.
Submitter Proposed Solution
Include a reference to the OASIS CALS table model standard in Section 4 and explicitly define its elements in the JATS Tag Suite (sections 5.1 and 5.2) in the same way that the XHTML model is being described. JATS users should be able to choose the table model that best fits their purposes, rather than be guided by the standard as to which table model standard to use.

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