Discussing new API proposals

We welcome new proposals and ideas to be made and discussed, and think
this WG is the right place to do so.

However, as outlined already last year, we think the WG should focus on
finalizing the current API draft (to a LC status) before starting a new
public/official document describing a new API. We think it has advanced
far already, there are working implementations and it is used by
application developers. Abandoning it, or slowing it down, now would be a
bad idea.

Discussing different use cases that are hard to do with the present API,
and discussing approaches and ideas that would make those use cases easier
to achieve, would probably be an excellent exercise in distilling out the
main approach for a new API (or future API extensions). We welcome such
discussions.

In discussing, we should distinguish carefully between three categories of
proposals:

- those that would remove functionality that present applications depend
on, and make it hard or impossible for those applications to go on working
- those that move functionality between Javascript and the browser,
possibly requiring simple adaptation libraries to maintain the
functionality applications are currently using
- those that extend the current functionality, allowing current
applications to go on working.

While respecting the need to keep APIs as clean and uncluttered as
possible, it should be obvious which kinds  of changes require the more
rigorous justification.

The list is open for the discussions.

Stefan for the chairs

Received on Tuesday, 16 July 2013 11:44:55 UTC