CSS Functions, Invoker Commands, and AI-Generated Alt Text: Major Web Platform Advances

CSS Custom Functions: A Game-Changing Addition to the Web Platform

TLDR: CSS is getting custom functions with arguments, default values, and type checking - currently prototyped in Chrome Canary behind experimental flags. This goes far beyond CSS mixins to enable true parameterized styling logic.

Link: Functions in CSS?! | CSS-Tricks

HTML Invoker Commands: Native Declarative Interactions Ship to Browsers

TLDR: The command and commandfor attributes enable declarative interactions like opening dialogs without JavaScript. Chrome has shipped support, with Firefox following soon.

Link: Everything you need to know about Invoker Commands | London Web Standards

Redefining "Web Page" for Modern Multi-Context Applications

TLDR: WCAG 3 is considering replacing "web page" with "view" as the unit of conformance to better accommodate native apps, XR environments, and embedded web content.

Link: Views on views

AI-Powered Alt Text Generation: Practical Accessibility at Scale

TLDR: After testing 12 LLMs on 9,000 images, cloud models like GPT-4 and Claude significantly outperformed local alternatives and often generated better alt text than human authors, completing the task for under $50.

Link: Trusting AI with my images wasn't easy

Mozilla's Privacy Policy Misstep and Recovery

TLDR: Mozilla updated Firefox's Terms of Use twice in one week after backlash over broad language that appeared to grant rights to all user data, including passwords and banking information.

Link: Mozilla Updates Firefox Terms Again After Backlash Over Broad Data License Language

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