Not Just SVG: Integrated XML Graphics

SVG is great by itself as a replacement graphics format, but much more useful when integrated with other XML namespaces. This talk will describe the benefits of combining SVG with other namespaces, including examples and working software, and showing what can be done right now as well as describing what could be possible in the future. Feedback from this talk will be taken back to the W3C SVG Working Group to help in the development of subsequent versions of SVG.

Already, SVG 1.0 integrates the XLink namespace (for simple, inline links). Clearly, support for complex links and for out of line linking could be added. This would allow separate maintenance of external linkbases and the use of menu-based, multiple link targets.SVG 1.0 also integrates SMIL Animation, which is a subset of SMIL 2.0. Naturally, integrating the whole of SMIL 2.0 is under serious consideration.

Existing use of SVG often involves HTML frames, so that a form-based interface can be used. XML Forms offer a greatly improved data collection mechanism, and the form data is itself a Schema-driven XML document. Integation with SVG not only allows all-XML form-driven graphics but also allows SVG to be used to create the actual form controls, giving enhanced creative freedom in the presentation.

One of the most frequently requested features for SVG is line wrapping. This has been resisted, since CSS and XSL already offer not just wrapping, but also fll control of margins, indents, bullets, and so forth. Integration of SVG inside FO (and FO inside SVG) and of CSS block formatting mixed with SVG and MathML will be demonstrated and described.