CODEWITHSUNDEEP
htmlfiguresemantic-markup
alexis
alexis

Reputation: 397

What does "reference" mean when using figure?

It seems the only real difference between the figure and aside elements, is that a figure is "referenced" by the main flow, where as an aside is not.

What exactly does reference mean in this context?

For example if I have a figure image of a mountain. Does it mean I need to point out that exact figure of the mountain or does it mean I could be talking about a mountain. How specific does a "reference" need to be for its proper use? Also if it needs to be referenced by the main flow does that mean it needs to be something the entire page is about and not just an article of it?

<figure>
    <img src="mountainReiner.jpg">
    <figcaption><p>mount reiner</p></figcaption>
</figure>

<p> paragraph talking about mountain reiner</p>

Upvotes: 0

Views: 410

Answers (2)

sideshowbarker
sideshowbarker

Reputation: 88086

2017-07-18 update

The HTML spec was updated[❄︎][❆] to clarify what’s meant by referenced as far as HTML elements.

The word referenced in the figure element section and also in other sections is now a link to https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/dom.html#referenced which reads:

Elements can be referenced (referred to) in some way, either explicitly or implicitly. One way that an element in the DOM can be explicitly referenced is by giving an id attribute to the element, and then creating a hyperlink with that id attribute's value as the fragment for the hyperlink's href attribute value. Hyperlinks are not necessary for a reference, however; any manner of referring to the element in question will suffice.

And there’s a detailed example following that text.

2017-07-13 original answer

What exactly does reference mean in this context?

It comes from the fact that in print publishing, figures are illustrations that are titled and numbered so you can cite them (reference them) by number+title easily in some any part of a publication.

For example, see how-to-use-figures style guides such as the following:

MLA Tables, Figures, and Examples — https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/14/

Each illustration must include a label, a number, a caption and/or source information.

APA Tables and Figures — https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/20/

For figures, make sure to include the figure number and a title with a legend and caption.

MLA Citation Guide (8th Edition): Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables — https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/mla/images

Each figure should be assigned a figure number, starting with number 1 for the first figure used in the assignment.

In Web documents, you can just put an id attribute on the figcaption elements that provide the title for each figure, and then use a-element hyperlinks to reference those titles, so numbers for figures aren’t strictly necessary. But many Web documents use numbered figures anyway.

Does it mean I need to point out that exact figure of the mountain or does it mean I could be talking about a mountain.

It means, give figures a figcaption with a title+id that lets you refer to it elsewhere in the doc.

How specific does a "reference" need to be for its proper use?

It can (should) be exact—a hyperlink pointing to a unique id.

Even if the figure is unnumbered and has the same title as another figure in the same document, if it has a unique id attribute, you can refer to it specifically/exactly by hyperlinking to that id.

Also if it needs to be referenced by the main flow does that mean it needs to be something the entire page is about and not just an article of it?

No, the HTML spec at least imposes no special requirements like that.

For the record here, the relevant language from the HTML spec is this:

The figure element represents some flow content, optionally with a caption, that is self-contained (like a complete sentence) and is typically referenced as a single unit from the main flow of the document.

https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/grouping-content.html#the-figure-element

Upvotes: 2

Sir Robert Casey
Sir Robert Casey

Reputation: 62

Reference means the subject matter or what your web page is about. If your web page is about Hiking(the referent), the figure of the mountain is there to reference the theme of hiking.

Another version is: Aside is information that is not related directly to the main content. (Generally not assisting directly in the main content. (such as car parts for the Hiking Page)

Figure may be used most widely in documents to illuminate the main themes of the document or to assist proving the main theme.

Upvotes: 1

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