Re: <object> element

> classid is listed in sequence for "the user agent must run the 
> following steps to determine what the object element represents: ... 
> "

I think classid is a great authoring feature. A use case is where the 
user system may have access to more than one plugin installed that 
operates on the same MIME type and the author wishes to specify which 
one to use to play the content of a specific object. A 'demo' of 
competing platforms, for instance, where you want to have different 
players running the exact same content on the same page. Sure you can 
trick it other ways, but using a specific classid is simple, 
effective, and avoids leaving the standards-track.

classid started out in IE and became useful to me when different X3D 
players adopted their individual classid values. But classid was 
limited to IE and would never work in other html browsers and often 
(more like everytime, with aggression) broke any object element that 
included a classid. I always wondered why clasid didn't work 
everywhere. Is it a closed and hidden form that nobody else wanted to 
figure out how to use? Because it gives the author too much authority? 
Is there a better way to give an author this opportunity for some 
control?
Anyway, for this to work meaningfully then processes the plugin uses 
to register classid must be as open and easy and predictable as when 
registering MIME type and file extension handling.
The classid 'value' should be specified at as high a level as 
possible - is it an IRI, or what is it?

Thank You and Best Regards,
Joe

Received on Monday, 1 June 2009 04:29:22 UTC