Re: [File API] events vs callbacks

On 8/11/09 8:51 PM, Jonas Sicking wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 1:56 AM, Olli Pettay<Olli.Pettay@helsinki.fi>  wrote:
>> On 8/11/09 3:47 AM, Jonas Sicking wrote:
>>>
>>> Today if you use XMLHttpRequest, you never have to worry if someone
>>> else happen to be reading from the same URI as you, if we go with the
>>> above API the same basically wouldn't be true for files.
>>
>> Yes you do need to worry with XHR. If I call open/send, it will cancel the
>> current request.
>>
>> To me supporting progress events sounds more important than
>> having easy way to do concurrent reads using the same FileData.
>> (And even with events, concurrent reads are very simple, just not
>> using the same FileData)
>
> The main problem isn't supporting multiple parallel reads, but rather
> that if someone does attempt to do multiple reads from the same file,
> it's very likely to result in buggy pages. I.e. we can put "Don't read
> from the same File instance multiple times in parallel", but that's
> unlikely to actually affect anyone.
>
> I'd also say that multiple reads is a use case that we do want to
> support given how big of a hassle it is to read from multiple places
> in a large file consecutively. Compare
>
> file.getAsBinary(handler1, 0, 1024);
> file.getAsBinary(handler2, 4096, 5120);
> file.getAsBinary(handler3, 1048576, 1049600);
>
> to
>
> file.getAsBinary(function(...) {
>    handler1(...);
>    file.getAsBinary(function(...) {
>      handler2(...);
>      file.getAsBinary(handler3, 1048576, 1049600);
>    }, 4096, 5120)
> }, 0, 1024);

You don't need to do that if you use slice:

var part1 = file.slice(0, 1024);
part1.onread = handler1;
part1.getAsBinary();
var part2 = file.slice(4096, 5120);
part2 = handler2;
part2.getAsBinary();
var part3 = file.slice(1048576, 1049600);
part3.onread = handler3;
part3.getAsBinary();

I know, this is longer than using the callback approach, but this is 
need only if someone really needs multiple simultaneous reads.

 > Also note that there are other solutions to supporing progress events,
 > such as the one suggested by Garrett with an external read object
 > (which would be pretty similar to how XHR does it).
FileData can be seen as a "Reader" object.

 > Or simply using
 > XHR which indeed already works in the current draft, at least once the
 > filedata protocol is more defined.
What you mean with this? How would you load partial files and get 
progress events?

-Olli