AChecker Web Service API

Interface applications with the AChecker through its experimental API. This is version 0.1, dated Mar 2009.

Two types AChecker web service API are provided:

  • Accessibility validation review;
  • Save or reverse decisions made on accessibility checks that a human must make.

Table of Contents

Validation request format

Below is a table of the parameter you can use to send a request to AChecker for validating URI.

If you want to use AChecker public validation server, use the parameters below in conjunction with the following base URI:
http://websiteaccessibilitychecker.com/checkacc.php
(replace with the address of your own server if you want to call a private instance of the validator)

ParameterDescriptionDefault value
uri The encoded URL of the document to validate. None, must be given.
id The "Web Service ID" generated once successfully registering into AChecker. This ID is a 40 characters long string. It can always be retrieved from user's "Profile" page. None, must be given.
guide The guidelines to validate against. Separate each guideline with comma (,). WCAG2-AA.
Or one or some of these values:
BITV1: abbreviation of guideline bitv-1.0-(level-2);
508: abbreviation of guideline section-508;
STANCA: abbreviation of guideline stanca-act;
WCAG1-A: abbreviation of guideline wcag-1.0-(level-a);
WCAG1-AA: abbreviation of guideline wcag-1.0-(level-aa);
WCAG1-AAA: abbreviation of guideline wcag-1.0-(level-aaa);
WCAG2-A: abbreviation of guideline wcag-2.0-l1;
WCAG2-AA: abbreviation of guideline wcag-2.0-l2;
WCAG2-AAA: abbreviation of guideline wcag-2.0-l3.
output Triggers the various outputs formats of the validator. If unset, the usual HTML format will be sent. If set to rest, the REST interface will be triggered. html. Or either one of these values: html or rest
offset The line offset to begin validation on the html output from URI. 0

Sample validation request

http://websiteaccessibilitychecker.com/checkacc.php?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fatutor.ca& id=888ca9e3f856baa0120755ecd8ffae6be3142029&output=html&guide=STANCA,WCAG2-AA&offset=10

Goal: Validate URI http://atutor.ca against guidelines "Stanca Act" and "Wcag 2.0 L2". Ignore the first 10 lines of html content from http://atutor.ca. Returns validation report in html format.

sample REST validation response


Success Response

A REST success response for the validation of a document (invalid) will look like this:

 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<resultset>
  <summary>
    <status>FAIL</status>
    <sessionID>40-character-long string</sessionID>
    <NumOfErrors>number</NumOfErrors>
    <NumOfLikelyProblems>number</NumOfLikelyProblems>
    <NumOfPotentialProblems>number</NumOfPotentialProblems>

    <guidelines>
      <guideline>string</guideline>
      ...
    </guidelines>
  </summary>

  <results>
    <result>
      <resultType>string</resultType>
      <lineNum>number</lineNum>
      <columnNum>number</columnNum>
    <errorMsg>encoded string</errorMsg>
    <errorSourceCode>encoded string</errorSourceCode>
    <repair>encoded string</repair>
    <decisionPass>encoded string</decisionPass>
    <decisionFail>encoded string</decisionFail>
    <decisionMade>string</decisionMade>
    <decisionMadeDate>string</decisionMadeDate>
    </result> 
    ...
  </results>
</resultset>

Error Response
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<errors>
  <totalCount>number</totalCount>
  <error code="401">
    <message>Empty URI.</message>
  </error>
  <error code="402">
    <message>Empty web service ID.</message>
  </error>
</errors>

REST response format reference

ElementDescription
resultset The root element of REST response. Encloses validation summary and results information.
summary The summary element of the validation response. Encloses validation summary information, the numbers of different types of problems and the title of guidelines validating against.
status Can be one of these values: FAIL, CONDITIONAL PASS, PASS.
FAIL is set when there is/are known problem(s).
CONDITIONAL PASS is set when there is no known problems but there is/are likely or potential problem(s).
PASS is set when there is no problems found, OR, there is no known problems and likely/potential problems have pass decisions made on.
sessionID The same ID must be sent back in make/reverse decisions request in response to the validation request. This is to ensure the make/reverse decision request comes from the authenticated source.
NumOfErrors Counts the number of known problems.
NumOfLikelyProblems Counts the number of likely problems.
NumOfPotentialProblems Counts the number of potential problems.
guidelines The main guideline element. Encloses all the titles of the guidelines that have been validated against.
guideline A child of guidelines. Encloses the title of the guideline that has been validated against.
results Encapsulates all data about problems encountered through the validation process.
result A child of results. Encloses details of one check problem.
resultType A child of result. Can be one of these values: Error, Likely Problem, Potential Problem.
lineNum A child of result. Within the source code of the validated document, refers to the line where the error was detected.
columnNum A child of result. Within the source code of the validated document, refers to the column of the line where the error was detected.
errorMsg A child of result. The actual error message.
errorSourceCode A child of result. The line of the source where the error/problem was detected.
repair A child of result. The actual message of how to repair. Only presented when resultType is "Error".
sequenceID A child of result. The unique sequence ID identifying each error/problem. This ID is used to pinpoint each error/problem in make/reverse decision request.
decisionPass A child of result. The actual text message of the pass decision. Only presented when resultType is "Likely Problem" or "Potential Problem".
decisionFail A child of result. The actual text message of the fail decision. Only presented when resultType is "Likely Problem" or "Potential Problem".
decisionMade A child of result. Only presented when the decision has been made by user. Can be one of these two values: PASS, FAIL. PASS is set when pass decision is chosen by the user. Otherwise, FAIL is set.
decisionMadeDate A child of result. Only presented when the decision has been made by user. The date and time when the decision was made.
errors Encapsulates all data about errors encountered through the validation process.
totalCount a child of errors. Counts the number of errors listed.
error a child of errors. Encloses the actual error code and error message.
message a child of error. The actual error message.

Sample HTML validation response


Success Response
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE style PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<style type="text/css">
ul {font-family: Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px;}
li.msg_err, li.msg_info { font-family: Arial; margin-bottom: 20px;list-style: none;}
span.msg{font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%;}
code.input { margin-bottom: 2ex; background-color: #F8F8F8; line-height: 130%;}
span.err_type{ padding: .1em .5em; font-size: smaller;}
</style>
<input value="4eefdfed3b98badf1f138ec83712358d67ffac9e" type="hidden" name="sessionid" />
<p>
<strong>Result: </strong>
<span style="background-color: red; border: solid green; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em">FAIL</span>  
<span style="color:red"><span style="font-weight: bold;">44 Errors  103 Likely Problems  217 Potential Problems  </span></span>
<strong><br />
<strong>Guides: </strong>
<a title="BITV 1.0 (Level 2)(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=1">BITV 1.0 (Level 2)</a>  <a title="Section 508(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=2">Section 508</a>  <a title="Stanca Act(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=3">Stanca Act</a>  <a title="WCAG 1.0 (Level A)(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=4">WCAG 1.0 (Level A)</a>  <a title="WCAG 1.0 (Level AA)(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=5">WCAG 1.0 (Level AA)</a>  <a title="WCAG 1.0 (Level AAA)(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=6">WCAG 1.0 (Level AAA)</a>  <a title="WCAG 2.0 L1(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=7">WCAG 2.0 L1</a>  <a title="WCAG 2.0 L2(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=8">WCAG 2.0 L2</a>  <a title="WCAG 2.0 L3(link opens in a new window)" target="_new" href="http://localhost/achecker/guideline/view_guideline.php?id=9">WCAG 2.0 L3</a>  
</p>
<h3>Accessibility Review</h3>
<h4>Errors</h4>
<div id="errors" style="margin-top:1em">
  <ul>
    ...         // error details
  </ul>
</div>

<div id="likely_problems" style="margin-top:1em">
  <ul>
    ...         // likely problem details
  </ul>
</div>

<div id="potential_problems" style="margin-top:1em">
  <ul>
    ...         // potential problem details
  </ul>
</div>
Sample result detail of the check that decision has been made
 
<li class="msg_info">
  <span class="err_type"><img src="http://localhost/achecker/images/info.png" alt="Info" title="Info" width="15" height="15" /></span>
  <em>Line 247, Column 9</em>:
  <span class="msg">
  <a href="http://localhost/achecker/checker/suggestion.php?id=197"
              onclick="popup('http://localhost/achecker/checker/suggestion.php?id=197'); return false;" 
              title="Suggest improvements on this error message" target="_new">Anchor text may not identify the link destination.</a>
  </span>
  <pre><code class="input"><a href="/contact.php"></code></pre>
  <p class="helpwanted">
  </p>
         
  <table>
    <tr>
      <td>
      <input value="P" type="radio" name="d[5_2_54]" id="pass5_2_54"  />
      <label for="pass5_2_54">Anchor has text that identifies the link destination.</label>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
      <input value="F" type="radio" name="d[5_2_54]" id="fail5_2_54"  />
      <label for="fail5_2_54">Anchor does not have text that identifies the link destination.</label>
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
      <input value="N" type="radio" name="d[5_2_54]" id="nodecision5_2_54" checked="checked" />
      <label for="nodecision5_2_54">No Decision</label>
      </td>
    </tr>
  </table>
</li>
Sample result detail of the check that decision has NOT been made
 
<li class="msg_info">
  <span class="err_type"><img src="http://localhost/achecker/images/info.png" alt="Info" title="Info" width="15" height="15" /></span>
  <em>Line 246, Column 9</em>:
  <span class="msg">
  <a href="http://localhost/achecker/checker/suggestion.php?id=197"
        onclick="popup('http://localhost/achecker/checker/suggestion.php?id=197'); return false;" 
        title="Suggest improvements on this error message" target="_new">Anchor text may not identify the link destination.</a>
  </span>
  <pre><code class="input"><a href="/archive.php"></code></pre>
  <p class="helpwanted">
  </p>
         
  <table class="form-data">
    <tr>
      <th align="left">Decision:</th>
      <td>Anchor has text that identifies the link destination.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th align="left">Date:</th>
      <td>2009-03-04 14:33:06</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td colspan="2">
      <input value="Reverse Decision" type="submit" name="reverse[5_2_54]" />
      </td>
    </tr>
  </table>
</li>

Error Response
 
<div id="error">
  <h4>The following errors occurred:</h4>
    <ul>
      <li>Empty URI. <small><small>(AC_ERROR_EMPTY_URI)</small></small></li>
    </ul>
    <ul>
      <li>Empty web service ID. <small><small>(AC_ERROR_EMPTY_WEB_SERVICE_ID)</small></small></li>
    </ul>
    <ul>
      <li>No sequence ID is given. <small><small>(AC_ERROR_SEQUENCEID_NOT_GIVEN)</small></small></li>
    </ul>
</div>

Validation error response reference

Error CodeDescription
401 Empty URI.
402 Invalid UR.
403 Empty web service ID.
404 Invalid web service ID.

Make/reverse decisions request format

Below is a table of the parameter you can use to send a request to AChecker for making decisions on likely or potential problems.

As said, if you want to use AChecker public validation server, use the parameters below in conjunction with the following base URI:
http://websiteaccessibilitychecker.com/checkacc.php
(replace with the address of your own server if you want to call a private instance of the validator)

ParameterDescriptionDefault value
uri The encoded URL of the document to validate. None, must be given.
id The "Web Service ID" generated once successfully registering into AChecker. This ID is a 40 characters long string. It can always be retrieved from user's "Profile" page. None, must be given.
session The "sessionid" embedded in the validation response. In REST format, it's the value of element <sessionID>. In HTML format, it's the value of hidden variable "sessionid" None, must be given.
output Triggers the various outputs formats of the validator. If unset, the usual HTML format will be sent. If set to rest, the REST interface will be triggered. html. Or either one of these values: html or rest
[sequenceID] The sequence ID in the validation response that identifies each likely or potential problems. In REST format, it's the value of element <sequenceID>. In HTML format, it's the key value of radio button array d[5_2_54], d[6_5_5] ... 5_2_54, 6_5_5 is the [sequenceID]. (This value is red-highlighted in above html sample response.) None. This parameter can appear as many times as user desires. The value of [sequenceID] can be one of these:
P : pass
F : fail
N : no decision
reverse When this parameter is presented and set to "true", the decisions on sequenceIDs sent in the request are all set to "No Decision" (N) no matter what values are given for the sequenceIDs in the request. None. When present, must be value "true"

Sample validation request

http://localhost/achecker/decisions.php?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fatutor.ca&id=888ca9e3f856baa0120755ecd8ffae6be3142029 &session=c124694572284112cb54679565ec13dd57ed6ccf&output=html&1=P&2=F&3=N&4=P

Goal: Set decision on problem sequence ID 1 to pass decision, 2 to fail decision, 3 to no decision, 4 to pass decision. Return response in HTML format.

http://localhost/achecker/decisions.php?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fatutor.ca&id=888ca9e3f856baa0120755ecd8ffae6be3142029 &session=c124694572284112cb54679565ec13dd57ed6ccf&output=rest&1=P&2=F&3=N&4=P&reverse=true

Goal: Reverse decisions on problem sequence ID 1, 2, 3, 4. All decisions for these sequence IDs are set to "decision has not been made". Return response in REST format.

Sample REST make/reverse decision response


Success Response

A REST success response for the make/reverse decision request will look like this:

 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<summary>
  <status>success</status>
</summary>

Error Response
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<errors>
  <totalCount>number</totalCount>
  <error code="401">
    <message>Empty URI.</message>
  </error>
  <error code="402">
    <message>Empty web service ID.</message>
  </error>
</errors>

REST response format reference

ElementDescription
summary The summary element of the validation response. Encloses the validation summary result.
status a child of summary. Only has one value: success.
errors Encapsulates all data about errors encountered through the validation process.
totalCount a child of errors. Counts the number of errors listed.
error a child of errors. Encloses the actual error code and error message.
message a child of error. The actual error message.

Sample HTML validation response


Success Response
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<div id="success">Success</div>

Validation error response reference

Error CodeDescription
401 Empty URI.
402 Invalid UR.
403 Empty web service ID.
404 Invalid web service ID.
405 No sequence id is given.
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