PROPOSED Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Working Group Charter
The mission of the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Working Group is to maintain SVG.
This proposed charter is available on GitHub. Feel free to raise issues.
Start date | [dd monthname yyyy] (date of the "Call for Participation", when the charter is approved) |
---|---|
End date | [Start date + 2 years] |
Chairs | Dirk Schulze, Adobe |
Team Contacts | Carine Bournez (0.05 FTE) |
Meeting Schedule |
Teleconferences: topic-specific calls may be held as needed. Face-to-face: we may meet during the W3C's annual Technical Plenary week; additional face-to-face meetings may be scheduled by consent of the participants. |
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) describes graphics in a way that is scalable to different device resolutions in a manner that is accessible, stylable, and scriptable.
Scope
The SVG WG maintains the deliverables listed in this charter. They consist of the following technologies, all of which are in scope for the SVG Working Group:
- A syntax for retained-model structured graphics. Both XML and HTML syntaxes are supported and CSS is used for styling.
- A rendering model which describes how SVG elements are rendered.
- An object model and set of APIs, to support scripting and user interaction.
The SVG WG's focus in this charter period is on maintenance and interoperability testing of the core SVG 2 specification.
As a secondary focus, the group may address modules for new graphical features for SVG, once there is broad consensus on adding each such feature to the Web Platform. The SVG Community Group (and also any other fora, such as WICG) will incubate new proposals. Once an incubated proposal is implemented and available (in nightly or testing builds) in at least one major browser, and has support from other SVG implementers, it may be adopted by the SVG Working Group. A requirements document will be used to collect together these features.
Out of Scope
The following features are out of scope, and will not be addressed by this Working group.
- changes to the HTML parsing algorithm.
Deliverables
Updated document status is available on the group publication status page.
Draft state indicates the state of the deliverable at the time of the charter approval. The Working Group intends to publish the latest state of their work as Candidate Recommendation (with Snapshots). SVG2 progress to further stages on the Recommendation track is dependent on increased participation level in the group.
Normative Specifications
The Working Group will maintain the following specifications:
- Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2
-
This specification defines the features and syntax for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Version 2. SVG is a language based on XML for describing two-dimensional vector and mixed vector/raster graphics. SVG content is stylable, scalable to different display resolutions, and can be viewed stand-alone, mixed with HTML content, or embedded using XML namespaces within other XML languages. SVG also supports dynamic changes; script can be used to create interactive documents, and animations can be performed using declarative animation features or by using script.
Draft state: Candidate Recommendation
Expected completion: undetermined
Adopted Working Draft: Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2, 04 October 2018.
Reference Draft: Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2, 04 October 2018. Exclusion period began 04 October 2018; Exclusion period ends 03 December 2018.
Produced under Working Group Charter: SVG WG, 2017-18.
- SVG Accessibility API Mappings
-
This specification allows SVG authors to create accessible rich internet applications, including charts, graphs, and other drawings by extending the "Core Accessibility API Mappings 1.1" and the "Accessible Name and Description: Computation and API Mappings 1.1" specifications.
Draft state: Working Draft
Expected completion: undetermined
Adopted Working Draft: SVG Accessibility API Mappings, 10 May 2018.
Reference Draft: SVG Accessibility API Mappings, 26 February 2015. Exclusion period began 26 February 2015; Exclusion period ended 26 July 2015.
Produced under Working Group Charter: SVG WG, 2017-18.
- SVG Native
-
SVG Native is a profile of SVG 1.1 designed for interoperability with native apps and system libraries that execute outside the Web environment, and thus cannot rely on features such as linking, interactivity, animation, or the Web security model.
Draft state: Unpublished Editors' Draft
Expected completion: undetermined
Other Deliverables
Other non-normative documents may be created such as:
- Use case and requirement documents;
- Test suite and implementation report for the specification;
- Primer or Best Practice documents to support web developers when designing applications.
Success Criteria
To be successful, the WG shall continue to work with the W3C/Developer Community to actively address open issues with group's deliverables.
In order to advance to Proposed Recommendation, each normative specification is expected to have at least two independent implementations of every feature defined in the specification.
Each specification should contain separate sections detailing all known security and privacy implications for implementers, Web authors, and end users.
There should be testing plans for each specification, starting from the earliest drafts.
Each specification should contain a section on accessibility that describes the benefits and impacts, including ways specification features can be used to address them, and recommendations for maximizing accessibility in implementations.
The SVG WG will follow a test as you commit approach to specification development.
All new features should be supported by at least two intents to implement before being incorporated in the specification.
Support from two or more web platform implementers is required before a substantive change can be made to a specification. This is enforced by a pull request template on GitHub, which Editors must fill out as a public record before a substantive contribution can be merged. The template will require implementers to give public support for a change and, where possible, provide a link to a public bug tracker for an implementation.
Coordination
For all specifications, this Working Group will seek horizontal review for accessibility, internationalization, performance, privacy, and security with the relevant Working and Interest Groups, and with the TAG. Invitation for review must be issued during each major standards-track document transition, including FPWD. The Working Group is encouraged to engage collaboratively with the horizontal review groups throughout development of each specification. The Working Group is advised to seek a review at least 3 months before first entering CR and is encouraged to proactively notify the horizontal review groups when major changes occur in a specification following a review.
Additional technical coordination with the following Groups will be made, per the W3C Process Document:
W3C Groups
- CSS Working Group
- Coordinate on integration of CSS features and properties into SVG, and vice versa.
- Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) Working Group
-
Coordinate on SVG and graphics-related ARIA deliverables. In particular, members of the SVG WG are
strongly encouraged to also join the ARIA WG to enable timely progress on the following ARIA deliverables
related to SVG:
- WAI-ARIA Graphics Module
- This specification defines semantic roles specific to web graphics, for use with WAI-ARIA.
- Graphics Accessibility API Mappings
- This specification defines the mapping between the WAI-ARIA Graphics Module and OS platform accessibility application programming interfaces.
- Accessible Platform Architectures Working Group
- Coordinate on accessible SVG.
- Web Application Security Working Group
- Coordinate on security of SVG.
- EPub3 Working Group
- Coordinate on reading system and publisher support for SVG.
- SVG Community Group
- This group provides a lightweight venue for proposing, incubating and discussing new SVG features.
External Organizations
- WHATWG
- Coordinate on integration of SVG and HTML, and on compatibility with the Canvas API specifications.
- ISO/IEC SC29 WG11
- For coordination on Core SVG, which originated with the OFF SVG table.
Participation
The Working Group is expected to have a Chair and participating contributors acting as maintainers for the specifications. The Chair is expected to guide contributors on how to make changes to the specifications, and, where appropriate, to make sure fixes to the specification have an accompanying web platform test.
The group encourages questions, comments and issues on its public mailing lists and document repositories, as described in Communication.
The group also welcomes non-Members to contribute technical submissions for consideration upon their agreement to the terms of the W3C Patent Policy.
Participants in the group are required (by the W3C Process) to follow the W3C Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
Communication
Technical discussions for this Working Group are conducted in public: the meeting minutes from teleconference and face-to-face meetings will be archived for public review, and technical discussions and issue tracking will be conducted in a manner that can be both read and written to by the general public. Working Drafts and Editor's Drafts of specifications will be developed in public repositories and may permit direct public contribution requests. The meetings themselves are not open to public participation, however.
Information about the group (including details about deliverables, issues, actions, status, participants, and meetings) will be available from the SVG Working Group home page.
Teleconferences are not expected, but can be conducted on an as-needed basis.
This group primarily conducts its technical work on GitHub issues. The public is invited to review, discuss and contribute to this work.
The group may use a Member-confidential mailing list for administrative purposes and, at the discretion of the Chairs and members of the group, for member-only discussions in special cases when a participant requests such a discussion.
Decision Policy
This group will seek to make decisions through consensus and due process, per the W3C Process Document (section 3.3). Typically, an editor or other participant makes an initial proposal, which is then refined in discussion with members of the group and other reviewers, and consensus emerges with little formal voting being required.
However, if a decision is necessary for timely progress and consensus is not achieved after careful consideration of the range of views presented, the Chairs may call for a group vote and record a decision along with any objections.
To afford asynchronous decisions and organizational deliberation, any resolution (including publication decisions) taken in a face-to-face meeting or teleconference will be considered provisional. A call for consensus (CfC) will be issued for all resolutions (for example, via email, GitHub issue or web-based survey), with a response period from one week to 10 working days, depending on the chair's evaluation of the group consensus on the issue. If no objections are raised by the end of the response period, the resolution will be considered to have consensus as a resolution of the Working Group.
All decisions made by the group should be considered resolved unless and until new information becomes available or unless reopened at the discretion of the Chairs or the Director.
This charter is written in accordance with the W3C Process Document (Section 3.4, Votes) and includes no voting procedures beyond what the Process Document requires.
Patent Policy
This Working Group operates under the W3C Patent Policy (Version of 15 September 2020). To promote the widest adoption of Web standards, W3C seeks to issue Web specifications that can be implemented, according to this policy, on a Royalty-Free basis. For more information about disclosure obligations for this group, please see the W3C Patent Policy Implementation.
Licensing
This Working Group will use the W3C Software and Document license for all its deliverables.
About this Charter
This charter has been created according to section 5.2 of the Process Document. In the event of a conflict between this document or the provisions of any charter and the W3C Process, the W3C Process shall take precedence.
Charter History
The following table lists details of all changes from the initial charter, per the W3C Process Document (section 5.2.3):
Charter Period | Start Date | End Date | Changes |
---|---|---|---|
Initial Charter | 1998-07-24 | 2001-05-31 | none |
Rechartered | 2001-06-10 | 2003-06-30 | none |
Rechartered | 2003-10-07 | 2004-03-31 | Switched to W3C Current Patent Practice |
Rechartered | 2004-12-20 | 2006-09-30 | Switched to W3C Patent Policy |
Charter Extension | 2006-09-21 | 2007-10-01 |
|
Charter Extension | 2007-11-26 | 2008-01-31 |
|
Rechartered | 2008-04-16 | 2010-04-30 | continue to develop SVG 1.2 and to maintain SVG 1.1 |
Charter Extension | 2010-04-28 | 2010-07-30 |
|
Charter Extension | 2010-10-04 | 2011-01-31 |
|
Charter Extension | 2011-06-01 | 2011-07-31 |
|
Rechartered | 2012-03-20 | 2014-03-31 | Contains new deliverables... |
Rechartered | 2014-10-23 | 2016-10-31 | zoom media feature, Motion Path, Accessibility and Web Performance joint work. removes the Graphics API and Tiles and Layering |
Charter Extension | 2016-11-02 | 2017-01-31 |
|
Rechartered | 2017-08-02 | 2018-06-30 | Restricted to Core SVG 2 and SVG Accessibility API Mappings. New features only after. |
Charter Extension | 2018-07-01 | 2018-11-30 |
|
Rechartered | 2019-03-22 | 2021-03-31 |
|
Rechartered (this charter) | date | date | Add Core SVG deliverable, focus on SVG2 testing and consider incubated new features. |
Change log
Changes to this document are documented in this section.