Re: [File API] Recent Updates To Specification + Co-Editor

One more question. Should we also rename FileError to BlobError and
FileException to BlobException in order to be consistent with the naming
changes?

Thanks,

Jian

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 2:20 PM, Arun Ranganathan <arun@mozilla.com> wrote:

> Greetings WebApps WG,
>
> I have made edits to the File API specification [1].  There are a few
> things of note that I'd like to call the WG's attention to.
>
> 1. There is a name change in effect.  FileReader has been re-named
> BlobReader, upon request from Chrome team folks[2][3].  The name
> "BlobReader" won't win awards in a beauty pageant, but it tersely describes
> an object to read Blobs (which could originate from the underlying file
> system *or* be generated *within* a Web App).  My present understanding is
> that FileWriter will also undergo a name change.  Naming is really hard.
>  Firefox already ships with FileReader, but I see the point of having an
> object named for what it does, which in this case is certainly more than
> file reading from the underlying file system.  I also abhor bike shedding,
> especially over naming, but this is something that's exposed to the authors.
>  I have not renamed FileError or FileException.  In the case of errors and
> exceptions, I think *most* scenarios will occur as a result of issues with
> the underlying file system.  These names should remain.
>
> 2. I've updated the URL scheme for Blobs using an ABNF that calls for an
> "opaque string" which is a term I define in the specification.  There was
> much discussion about this aspect of the File API specification, and I think
> the existing scheme does allow for user agents to tack on origin information
> in the URL (this is not something the spec. says you should do).  The actual
> choice of opaque string is left to implementations, though the specification
> suggests UUID in its canonical form (and provides an ABNF for this).  I
> think this is the most any specification has said on the subject of URLs.
>
> 3. There is an additional asynchronous read method on BlobReader, and an
> additional synchronous read method on BlobReaderSync, namely
> readAsArrayBuffer.  These use the TypedArrays definition initially defined
> by the WebGL WG [4].
>
> 4. I am moving on from my full-time role at Mozilla to a part-time
> consulting role.  I'll continue to be an editor of the File API, but I am
> stepping down as Chair of the WebGL WG.  I'll continue to be active in
> standards communities, though :-)
>
> 5. I spoke to Jonas Sicking, who expressed willingness to be a co-editor of
> the File API specification.  Most people who work on HTML5 and WebApps know
> Jonas' contributions to both WGs; with everyone's consent, I'd like to
> nominate him as co-editor.  His model for an asynchronous event-driven API
> is what prompted the initial rewrite, and he also works on both File API and
> IndexedDB implementation (amongst other things).
>
> -- A*
>
> [1] http://dev.w3.org/2006/webapi/FileAPI/
> [2]
> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-webapps/2010AprJun/0755.html
> [3]
> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-webapps/2010AprJun/0716.html
> [4]
> https://cvs.khronos.org/svn/repos/registry/trunk/public/webgl/doc/spec/TypedArray-spec.html
>
>