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Bug #33205 PHP Manual index page alignment
Submitted: 2005-05-31 20:31 UTC Modified: 2005-09-20 08:31 UTC
Votes:2
Avg. Score:4.5 ± 0.5
Reproduced:2 of 2 (100.0%)
Same Version:0 (0.0%)
Same OS:0 (0.0%)
From: phpnet535 at eddeye dot net Assigned:
Status: Wont fix Package: Website problem
PHP Version: Irrelevant OS: n/a
Private report: No CVE-ID: None
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 [2005-05-31 20:31 UTC] phpnet535 at eddeye dot net 
Description:
------------
The PHP.net online manual index page (/manual/en/) is very difficult to read.  The sections are marked up as <dt>'s inside a definition list, with the numbering added explicitly.  Not only is this the wrong markup for this type of data, but the Function Reference section is nearly impossible to scan because none of the section titles line up.

This page *should* be marked up as an ordered list, with the number types (arabic or roman) specified in css.  I will *glady* fix this problem if somebody points me to the source files, which I could not locate in CVS.

Reproduce code:
---------------
<DL>
<DT>VI. <A HREF="funcref.php">Function Reference</A></DT>
<DD>
  <DL>
    <DT>I. <A HREF="ref.apache.php">Apache-specific Functions</A></DT>
    <DT>II. <A HREF="ref.apd.php">Advanced PHP debugger</A></DT>
    <DT>III. <A HREF="ref.array.php">Array Functions</A></DT>
    <DT>IV. <A HREF="ref.aspell.php">Aspell functions [deprecated]</A></DT>


Expected result:
----------------
<ol>
<li><A HREF="funcref.php">Function Reference</A>
  <ol style="list-style-type: upper-roman">
    <li>I. <A HREF="ref.apache.php">Apache-specific Functions</A></li>
    <li>II. <A HREF="ref.apd.php">Advanced PHP debugger</A></li>
    <li>III. <A HREF="ref.array.php">Array Functions</A></li>
    <li>IV. <A HREF="ref.aspell.php">Aspell functions [deprecated]</A></li>
  </ol>
</li>

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 [2005-05-31 20:39 UTC] phpnet535 at eddeye dot net 
Forgot to remove the explicit roman numerals from the expected result:

<ol>
<li><A HREF="funcref.php">Function Reference</A>
  <ol style="list-style-type: upper-roman">
    <li><A HREF="ref.apache.php">Apache-specific Functions</A></li>
    <li><A HREF="ref.apd.php">Advanced PHP debugger</A></li>
    <li><A HREF="ref.array.php">Array Functions</A></li>
    <li><A HREF="ref.aspell.php">Aspell functions
[deprecated]</A></li>
  </ol>
</li>
 [2005-05-31 22:34 UTC] derick@php.net 
All the source is in the phpdoc module, good luck fixing DSSSL stylesheets - it's not going to be trivial ....
 [2005-05-31 23:12 UTC] phpnet535 at eddeye dot net 
Can you narrow it down a bit?  I looked in there before and couldn't find the source to that page.
 [2005-06-01 09:24 UTC] derick@php.net 
Sorry, but I would have to look for it too - i've generally no idea, but I *think* it might in the standard docbook dsssl sheets, which you'll have to override.
 [2005-06-01 10:16 UTC] goba@php.net 
Finding the right place in the DSSSL sheets is already solving half of the problem, then doing some overrides will probably be simple :)
 [2005-09-19 15:04 UTC] sniper@php.net 
If you can provide a patch, fine, but we won't waste time fixing this issue. IMO, there's nothing wrong with the index.
 [2005-09-20 02:41 UTC] phpnet535 at eddeye dot net 
Sniper:

1) Just because you don't have a problem with it doesn't mean it's not a problem.  It makes the index harder to use.

2) Say it's a minor problem on an individual level.  Suppose it means that people take an extra 2 seconds to find the entry they want.  With thousands of page views a day, this becomes a large problem in the aggregate.

3) The current system is poorly coded.  You don't hard-code ordinals in your PHP scripts, you shouldn't do it in html list markup.  It flies in the face of good web design.  It's not just a readability problem, but an accessibility issue.  PHP of all projects should respect proper HTML coding practices.

Unfortunately, I no longer have time to fix it.  Which probably means it will lay around broken forever because people like sniper think if it works for him, it works for everyone.  While we're at it, let's just remove all the img alt tags from php.net; most people don't need em.
 [2005-09-20 07:27 UTC] goba@php.net 
Dear bug reporter. As too many people already indicated, we are open to any patches submitted in this issue. Ranting about why people not have the time to do this (especially instead of looking after the problem) does not solve anything.
 [2005-09-20 08:31 UTC] phpnet535 at eddeye dot net 
I agree, ranting doesn't solve anything.  If you'll reread my comment more carefully, you'll see I am not in fact ranting, but providing my rationale why the bug is important.  I have not asked anyone else to fix it, only pointed out why it deserves to be fixed.  Since I don't have the time to do it myself, the least I can do is outline the reasons others may want to do so in the future.  This is both constructive and desirable.  If the last paragraph is a bit heavy on sarcasm, I felt it necessary to reinforce my point.
 
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