In what scenarios we should go for <dl> not <ul>?
Does it matter for screen reader user <ul> or <dl>? does screen reader software notify user about content is in <ul> or <dl>?
views:
125answers:
3
+1
A:
When you're working with a set of definitions and not merely an list of unordered items.
Jonathan Sampson
2010-03-10 03:05:51
what in person name then short description about person? and for question answers?
metal-gear-solid
2010-03-10 03:09:54
If it's a definition, use `dl`. It's merely a list, `ul`. The names are pretty self-explanatory. Granted, there will be some cases where it might be difficult to say which is best, but it's nothing to worry about.
Jonathan Sampson
2010-03-10 03:11:31
+9
A:
The idea being that the term-to-be-defined is held in the
A <dl> is a definition list. It should be used in such a case as, perhaps, a dictionary:
Use-case:
<dl>
<dt>Thesaurus</dt>
<dd>A book for finding synonyms of other words, often alphabetical. Similar to a dictionary.</dd>
</dl>
Result of the above:
- Thesaurus
- A book for finding synonyms of other words, often alphabetical. Similar to a dictionary.
The idea being that the term-to-be-defined is held in the
<dt> element, and the definition of that term is given in the <dd>.
A <ul> is an unordered list. Now, a <dl> does not imply any order to its contents, but it does imply a semantic relation between its children. A <ul>, however, could contain anything that is not ordered.
David Thomas
2010-03-10 03:06:50
A:
For ambiguous cases like your examples in the comment on Jonathan's answer (person name then description, question then answer), why don't you install a trial version of a screen reader or two and find out which construct is read most appropriately?
Here are two (from here):
Mike Powell
2010-03-10 03:37:22