Understanding WCAG SC 4.1.1 Parsing(Deprecated)
Version and Level: 2.0/2.1 (Level A)
Success Criterion 4.1.1 Parsing goal was to ensure that web content is structured and coded in a way that allows user agents (including browsers and assistive technologies) to accurately interpret and parse it. This means ensuring elements have complete start and end tags, are nested correctly according to specifications, and do not contain syntax errors like duplicate attributes. The criterion aimed to prevent issues where parsing errors could lead to inconsistent or incorrect presentation of content across different user agents, thus ensuring a more reliable and accessible experience for all users, including those relying on assistive technologies.
Reasons for Deprecating:
The Success Criterion 4.1.1 Parsing (Level A) was deprecated and removed from WCAG 2.2 primarily due to several reasons related to advancements in technology and changes in web standards and practices:
Improved Parsing by User Agents: Over time, web browsers and assistive technologies have significantly improved their ability to handle and parse HTML and other markup languages. Browsers have become more robust in dealing with parsing errors and malformed HTML, often using error correction techniques to render content more consistently. This reduces the impact of minor parsing errors on accessibility.
Evolution of Web Standards: The HTML specification and other web standards have evolved to clarify error handling and specify behaviors for handling various markup errors. This has helped to standardize how user agents interpret and render content, thereby reducing the variability in how content is presented across different browsers and assistive technologies.
Shift in Assistive Technology Practices: Assistive technologies previously relied on their own parsing algorithms to interpret web content, especially in cases where browsers did not handle parsing errors well. However, modern assistive technologies increasingly rely on the parsing capabilities of mainstream browsers, which have improved significantly.