[css-color] 12-bit Hex Notation

[Crissov]

I donʼt like hexadecimal triplet (or quartet) notation for RGB(A) color values, because I think it is

• firstly too opaque, in that for many people the hex in the tech slang term “hexcode” understandably resonates with magic spell,
• and secondly too technology-specific, in that RGB becomes constrained to 8-bit sRGB.

However, it remains immensely popular, so take the following as an advocatus diaboli proposal.

It has not been brought up as a part of #3249, but since each hexadecimal digit represents a nibble, i.e. 4 bits, a logical extension to

• #rgb (3 hexdigits, 4-bit channel or component, 12-bit color),
• #rgba (4, 4, 16),
• #rrggbb (6, 8, 24) and
• #rrggbbaa (8, 8, 32)

notations would be

• #rrrgggbbb (9, 12, 36) and
• #rrrgggbbbaaa (12, 12, 48).

10-bit color channels cannot be represented well this way.

Although #rgb can simply map unto #rrggbb or #rrrgggbbb by repeating the digit, this is not possible in general for mapping #rrggbb unto #rrrgggbbb.

[zamadatix]

and secondly too technology-specific, in that RGB becomes constrained to 8-bit sRGB.

10-bit color channels cannot be represented well this way.

The proposal doesn't seem to provide any practical gain towards the problem statement.

[svgeesus]

I donʼt like hexadecimal triplet (or quartet) notation for RGB(A) color values

or do I, which is why all the modern stuff is tending towards a bit-depth neutral formulation with a float [0 .. 1] or 0% to 100% representation

Adding convoluted hexadecimal representations merely obscures this goal.