[contents]
This document describes the requirements for the scope, design, and features of the Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0. The Evaluation and Report Language is a vocabulary, the terms of which are defined across a set of specifications and technical notes and that is used to describe test results. The primary motivation for developing this vocabulary is to facilitate the exchange of test results between Web accessibility evaluation tools in a vendor-neutral and platform-independent format. It will also provide reusable terms for more generic applications, such as Web quality assurance and validation tools.
This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in the W3C technical reports index at http://www.w3.org/TR/.
This 26 May 2009 Working Draft of the Requirements for Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 is an update of the previous Working Draft of Requirements for Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 11 July 2005 and it incorporates all comments received since the previous Working Draft. Keep in mind that this updated document now specifies a vocabulary that is defined across a suite of specifications and technical notes (rather than only the Evaluation and Report Language 1.0 Schema) produced and maintained by the Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group (ERT WG). (See the EARL 1.0 [Guide]document for a list of the specifications and technical notes that comprise EARL 1.0 and how these documents are related to one another.
Feedback from Web developers and researchers who have interest in software-supported evaluation and validation of Web sites is encouraged. In particular, the Working Group is looking for feedback about the consistency, feasibility, and completeness of these requirements, together with how well they might support more generic applications such as Web quality assurance and validation tools.
This document will be published and maintained as a W3C Working Group Note after review and refinement. Publication as a Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress.
Please send comments to the mailing list of the ERT WG. The archives for this list are publicly available.
This document has been produced as part of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The ERT WG is part of the WAI Technical Activity. The goals of the ERT WG are discussed in the Working Group charter.
On January 1, 2005 and again on ??? 2008, the ERT WG was chartered to continue the development of EARL 1.0. The following is a collection of requirements set forth by the Working Group. Each requirement is labeled with one of the following key words:
- WILL
- The collection of specifications and technical notes that comprise the EARL 1.0 vocabulary produced by the Working Group must satisfy this requirement.
- SHOULD
- The collection of specifications and technical notes that comprise the EARL 1.0 vocabulary produced by the Working Group must address this requirement.
- MAY
- The collection of specifications and technical notes that comprise the EARL 1.0 vocabulary produced by the Working Group can exclude this requirement.
Note: These key words, as used in this requirements document, should not be confused with the key words defined by [RFC 2119].
- S01
- EARL 1.0 will be a vocabulary, the terms of which are given in a set of specifications and explanatory technical notes for describing test results.
- S02
- EARL 1.0 will be sufficiently complete to describe test results from the domain of Web accessibility evaluation, such as evaluation with regard to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WCAG].
- S03
- EARL 1.0 will be abstract enough to describe test results in other domains or contexts, such as Web quality assurance or Web Security.
- S04
- EARL 1.0 may be generic enough to describe test results eminating from testing non-web artifacts.
- D01
- EARL 1.0 will define its vocabulary as a set of Resource Description Framework Schemas [RDF]
- D02
- The specifications and technical notes that comprise the EARL 1.0 vocabulary will be developed and published according to the [W3C QA Framework].
- D03
- The EARL 1.0 vocabulary will provide for test results and reports (collections of results) that can be generated or processed efficiently and in a time that is reasonable relative to the other functions implemented by applications that perform such processing or generation.
- D04
- EARL 1.0 should reuse existing vocabularies whenever possible and appropriate.
- D05
- EARL 1.0 will support the extension of its vocabulary to specific domains, including the domain of Web accessibility evaluation.
- D06
- EARL 1.0 will support automated, semi-automated, or manual testing.
- D07
- EARL 1.0 will provide a vocabulary that supports the internationalization infrastructure included in [RDF].
- D08
- EARL 1.0 will define a conformance model consisting of a minimal set of required terms and restrictions on how to use them.
- F01
- EARL 1.0 will provide terms in its vocabulary for describing the context in which the results were obtained.
- F02
- EARL 1.0 will provide mechanisms to relate test results with the specific location within the subject that triggered the result where applicable.
- F03
- EARL 1.0 should support persistency of the validity of the results with respect to modifications or variations of the subject due to its dynamic nature where applicable.
- F04
- EARL 1.0 will support the combining of sets of test results into a single report consisting of these sets of results or of portions of a report (e.g. specification of test criteria, test subject, etc.) into a single report.
- [Guide]
- Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 Guide
- [RFC 2119]
- Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels
- [WCAG]
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- [W3C QA Framework]
- W3C QA Framework: Specification Guidelines
- [RDF]
- Resource Description Framework (RDF): Concepts and Abstract Syntax
- RDF Vocabulary Description Language 1.0: RDF Schema
- RDF Primer
- RDF/XML Syntax Specification
- Why RDF model is different from the XML model