RFE: Make it more convenient to use xml:lang in HTML and XHTML

XMLmind XML Editor (XXE) is an - eh - XML editor. But as XHTML is 
typically consumed as text/HTML, in practise it is also a HTML editor.

XHTML has always had a 'complicated' relationship to xml:lang. It seems 
like everyone really wants to just use lang - or at least use just one 
attribute (which would have had to be lang). But - either - in order to 
"look good" - or - in order to use XML tooling (which is rumoured to not 
support lang), it is customary to put upon oneselves the burdon of 
adding both lang and xml:lang. This was recommended back in 1998 when 
XHTML 1 was released. And it was also recommended by the polyglot HTML 
draft (even if, in my heart, I did not want to require both attributes).

Context: As for tooling, then we see this in XXE itself; When working 
with XInclude, it turns out that @lang is ignored - only xml:lang is 
respected and counted. (I might write a separate RFE or BUG about that.) 
The consequence being that if, via XInclude, you embed

    <section lang="en" id="sect01" />

then the way XXE implements what XInclude calls 'language fixup' causes 
the above element to be embedded as if the language property is unknown, 
which (as of XXE 10.4) means that XXE adds xml:lang="" to the embedded 
element:

    <section xml:lang="" id="sect01" />

And, if it does not delete the lang attribute, we even get this:

    <section xml:lang="" lang="en" id="sect01" />

Which means that XInclude has created a document which is invalid, 
since, when both xml:lang and lang are used, they must be in agreement. 
Clearly, this behavior is wrong - on many levels. (A separate bug about 
this will probably be written.)

However, this message is not about how XInclude is implemented, but 
about making it more convenient to apply xml:lang in XHTML and HTML 
documents. And the (current) need to use xml:lang warrants that it 
should be simpler.

I see two ways to make it simpler: EITHER add some form of automation: 
When someone adds or edits the lang attribute, then xml:langs is added 
and/or edited, automatically, in parallell. OR offer xml:lang in the 
default list of attributes to select from. (Clearly I prefer the 
automated variant.) AND a third option: Decrease the need to use 
xml:lang.

So as of today, when authoring HTML or XHTML docuemnts, the lang 
attribute is by default visible inside the Attribute editor. Just click 
on the attribute name, and add the value. Whereas for xml:lang, you must 
either manually type the name of the attribute before you can select it, 
or you can change the defaults (on the fly) so that so called xml 
attributes are also visible. (But this also makes xml:base and xml:space 
visible. )

But the third alternative is what I prefer the most: Decrease the need 
to use xml:lang. For instance, by changing the implementation of 
XInclude so that lang is treated like xml:lang (and/or so that xml:lang 
is kept in sync with lang).

Leif Halvard Silli

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