Glossary

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AI Code Generation(also: Code Generation Model, AI Coding Assistant, LLM Code Generation)

The use of large language models and machine learning to automatically generate, suggest, or complete source code based on natural language prompts or existing code context. Tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and Amazon CodeWhisperer are integrated into developer workflows as…

AJAX(also: Ajax, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)

AJAX is a set of web development techniques that allow web pages to communicate with a server and update portions of the page content without requiring a full page reload. AJAX poses major accessibility challenges because dynamic content updates happen silently in the DOM,…

ARIA Live Region(also: Live Region, aria-live)

A section of a web page marked with the aria-live attribute that is dynamically updated and should be announced by assistive technologies when changes occur, even if the user's focus is elsewhere. Live regions have politeness levels: "polite" (announced at the next convenient…

Access Keys(also: Accesskeys, Keyboard Shortcuts)

Access keys are keyboard shortcuts defined in HTML using the accesskey attribute that allow users to activate or focus on specific elements — such as links or form controls — by pressing a key combination. Introduced as an accessibility feature to help keyboard-only users…

Accessibility API(also: Accessibility Interface, Platform Accessibility API)

A programming interface provided by an operating system or UI framework that exposes information about user interface elements to assistive technologies. Accessibility APIs enable screen readers, switch access devices, and other assistive technologies to programmatically read,…

Accessibility API(also: Accessibility Application Programming Interface, Platform Accessibility API)

A software interface provided by operating systems and browsers that exposes information about user interface elements — including their roles, states, properties, and relationships — to assistive technologies such as screen readers. Accessibility APIs (e.g., Microsoft UI…

Accessibility API(also: Accessibility Application Programming Interface, A11y API)

A set of programming interfaces provided by operating systems that allow assistive technologies and accessibility services to interact with application user interfaces. Accessibility APIs expose information about on-screen elements — their labels, roles, states, and…

Accessibility Object Model(also: AOM)

The Accessibility Object Model (AOM) is a proposed W3C web standard that aims to give JavaScript developers direct programmatic access to the browser's accessibility tree. While WAI-ARIA allows authors to annotate HTML with accessibility semantics through markup attributes, the…

Accessibility Remediation(also: A11y Remediation, Accessibility Repair)

The process of identifying and fixing accessibility barriers in digital products such as websites, mobile applications, or documents to bring them into compliance with accessibility standards and make them usable by people with disabilities. Remediation may involve modifying…

Accessibility Repair(also: Automated Accessibility Repair, Accessibility Remediation)

Accessibility repair refers to the process of identifying and fixing accessibility barriers in digital content, ranging from manual remediation by developers to automated tools that can detect and correct certain violations programmatically. Automated repair tools aim to go…

Accessibility Tree(also: A11y Tree, Accessible Tree)

A hierarchical data structure maintained by operating systems and browsers that represents the accessible elements of a user interface in a form that assistive technologies can interpret. The accessibility tree is derived from the visual UI but organized logically rather than…

Accessibility-Oriented Prompting(also: Accessible Prompting, A11y Prompting)

A prompt engineering strategy for large language models (LLMs) in which explicit accessibility requirements are included in the prompt when requesting code generation or UI design. Rather than relying on the LLM to infer accessibility needs from generic instructions,…

Accessible Role(also: ARIA Role, Role)

An accessible role is a property that defines the type and expected behavior of a user interface element as exposed to assistive technologies through the accessibility tree. Roles communicate what an element is (e.g., button, link, heading, list, table, dialog) so that assistive…

Adaptive Rendering(also: Content Adaptation, Dynamic Rendering)

The process of automatically modifying how web content is presented based on a user's needs, preferences, or device capabilities. Adaptive rendering can involve transformations such as adjusting layout, reformatting text, replacing images with alternative representations,…

Anchor Text(also: Link Text, Hyperlink Text)

The visible, clickable text within a hypertext link that is intended to describe the link's destination or purpose. Descriptive anchor text (e.g., "download the annual report") provides clear information about what the user will find when they follow the link, while vague anchor…

Annotation(also: Web Annotation, Content Annotation)

The practice of adding supplementary information, notes, or metadata to existing digital content, typically without modifying the original source. In accessibility, annotation is used to add alternative descriptions, labels, structural information, or other accessibility…

Aria-Live(also: ARIA Live Region, Live Region)

An ARIA attribute (aria-live) used to designate regions of a web page whose content may change dynamically, ensuring that assistive technologies announce updates to users without requiring them to navigate to the changed content. The attribute accepts values of "polite" (waits…

Authoring Tool(also: Web Authoring Tool, Content Authoring Tool)

An authoring tool is any software application used to create or modify web content, ranging from code editors and content management systems (CMS) to visual page builders and social media platforms. The W3C's Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) address two aspects of…

Auto-label(also: Automatic Labeling, Heuristic Labeling)

A feature in authoring tools or runtime environments that automatically generates accessible labels for interactive elements when a developer has not explicitly provided one. For example, Adobe Flash Player's auto-label function would heuristically find nearby text for objects…

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