w3c / wpub-ann

Web Annotation Extensions for Web Publications
https://w3c.github.io/wpub-ann/
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Use Cases for Span Selector - are there any? #32

Open tcole3 opened 6 years ago

tcole3 commented 6 years ago

Span Selectors can be used to describe selections that span multiple embedded resources - e.g., multiple resources included in a Web Publication. For instance, a Span Selector can be used to select from the last paragraph of Chapter 2, through all of Chapter 3, and into Chapter 4 up until (but not including) the 5th paragraph.

A Multi Selector could be used to specify the same selection, but would do so as an ordered list of paragraphs and chapters, without the benefit of saying the selection was continuous. So, a Multi Selector might do this by listing: the last paragraph of Chapter 2, Chapter 3, paragraph 1 of Chapter 4, paragraph 2 of Chapter 4, paragraph 3 of Chapter 4, and paragraph 4 of Chapter 4.

A Span Selector is therefore more succinct. Are there additional use cases that would benefit from availability of a Span Selector? Is the succinctness worth having an additional type of Selector? See also the earlier discussion of #25 when we were considering the functionality of Span Selector as an extension of Ranger Selector (rather than a separate, new selector type).