Does Silverlight 4 comply with the WCAG 2.0 specifications

Question

I need to build a web application which complies with the WCAG 2.0 specification.

One main feature of this application is that some code must be executed on the client. I don't have any way to avoid it (it's the old problem of the electronic sign).

That's why I thought of Silverlight (and because of RIA services, of course). But I haven't found any information about whether an application developed this way would meet the WCAG 2.0 requirements.

Any links or opinions?

Thanks in advance.

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 14 '10 at 22:54

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Silverlight does have accessibilty features Silverlight Accessibility Overview.

answered Nov 14 '10 at 22:54

mikek3332002

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That link relates to a completely different meaning of "accessibility" (i.e. that is about accessibility for control automation). Congrats on getting 4 votes for a completely misleading answer though :) This is all by the by now with Silverlight pushing up daisies (except for Intranet use). – iCollect.it Ltd Aug 09 '13 at 09:19

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 05 '10 at 18:08

Silverlight is not designed to meet the requirements of WCAG 2.0. All text is rendered as a bitmap and not available to text reading software. Full accessibility keyboard support is doable but not built in.

If you must use Silverlight and WCAG 2.0, then you will also need a traditional website, for those who cannot use Silverlight due to visual impairment or other disability. Note a parallel ASP.Net site also helps with SEO requirements.

A good combination would be a Silverlight front end using RIA services, along with an ASP.Net website (which can also use RIA services) to meet the accessibility requirements.

It is an easy matter to detect if Silverlight is not installed, then show the traditional site, or you could give a choice of Silverlight or web from a main Html page.

I don't think this is correct. We were able to meet section 508 compliance guidelines using Silverlight using the AutomationProperties element. — RaoulRubin, Feb 06 '13 at 22:13

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 24 '11 at 10:50

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See Accessibility Supported Uses for Microsoft Silverlight 2.0.

edited Nov 24 '11 at 10:50

Aziz Shaikh

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answered Nov 30 '10 at 20:18

John Nephin

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 09 '15 at 05:53

The silverlight techniques for WCAG 2.0 : http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20120103/silverlight.html

You have to use the framework Microsoft UI Automation so this document : https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc707824%28VS.95%29.aspx will help you.

Does Silverlight 4 comply with the WCAG 2.0 specifications

4 Answers4