Abstract
Enable title-only feeds by removing the requirement for <atom:summary> in the case where there's no content.
Status
Open
Rationale
There are many existence proofs of title-only feeds, and little reason why Atom should rule out this idiom. In the case that there is content and it is either remote or non-textual, the summary should still be required on accessibility grounds.
Proposal
In section 4.1.2 of format-08, there is a bullet point as follows: "atom:entry elements MUST contain an atom:summary element in any of the following cases:". Remove the first item in the sub-list, which reads "the atom:entry element contains no atom:content element.", leaving summary required in the cases where the content is remote or non-textual. (Editorial: it may be possible to lose the sub-list).
The text would read as follows:
The following child elements are defined by this specification (note
that it requires the presence of some of these elements):
o atom:entry elements MUST contain exactly one atom:author element,
unless the atom:entry contains an atom:source element which
contains an atom:author element, or, in an Atom Feed Document, the
atom:feed element contains an atom:author element itself.
o atom:entry elements MUST NOT contain more than one atom:author
element.
o atom:entry elements MAY contain any number of atom:category
elements.
o atom:entry elements MUST NOT contain more than one atom:content
element.
o atom:entry elements MAY contain any number of atom:contributor
elements.
o atom:entry elements MUST NOT contain more than one atom:copyright
element.
o atom:entry elements MUST contain exactly one atom:id element.
o atom:entry elements that contain no child atom:content element
MUST contain at least one atom:link element with a rel attribute
value of "alternate".
o atom:entry elements MUST NOT contain more than one atom:link
element with a rel attribute value of "alternate" that has the
same combination of type and hreflang attribute values.
o atom:entry elements MAY contain additional atom:link elements
beyond those described above.
o atom:entry elements MUST NOT contain more than one atom:published
element.
o atom:entry elements MUST NOT contain more than one atom:source
element.
o atom:entry elements MUST contain an atom:summary element in any of
the following cases:
* the atom:entry contains an atom:content that has a "src"
attribute (and is thus empty).
* the atom:entry contains content that is encoded in Base64; i.e.
the "type" attribute of atom:content is a MIME media type
[MIMEREG] and does not begin with "text/" nor end with "+xml".
o atom:entry elements MUST NOT contain more than one atom:summary
element.
o atom:entry elements MUST have exactly one "atom:title" element.
o atom:entry elements MUST contain exactly one atom:updated element.
Impacts
Title-only feeds become legal in Atom.
Notes
See Also: PaceDefineAtomProcessor See Also: PaceBriefExample
