[Bug 12221] New: Should Structured Clone preserve property descriptors?

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=12221

           Summary: Should Structured Clone preserve property descriptors?
           Product: HTML WG
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: PC
        OS/Version: Windows NT
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: HTML5 spec (editor: Ian Hickson)
        AssignedTo: ian@hixie.ch
        ReportedBy: travil@microsoft.com
         QAContact: public-html-bugzilla@w3.org
                CC: mike@w3.org, public-html-wg-issue-tracking@w3.org,
                    public-html@w3.org, travil@microsoft.com


I propose that when cloning properties, the cloned properties be "fresh"
properties such that previous modifications to the ECMAScript 5 property
descriptors are not preserved (just take the defaults). I take this approach
because it seems simpler, but I'm open to other points of view.


In step 5 of the internal structured clone algorithm, we have the following
text:

5.If input is an Array object or an Object object, then, for each enumerable
property in input, add a corresponding property to output having the same name,
and having a value created from invoking the internal structured cloning
algorithm recursively with the value of the property as the "input" argument
and memory as the "memory" argument. The order of the properties in the input
and output objects must be the same.

The key phrase of interest is: "add a corresponding property to output having
the same name"

In the world of ECMAScript 5, properties have additional "property descriptors"
such as configurable, writable, getters and setters. The question I have is
when the algorithm says to "add a corresponding property" does it expect to
preserve the property descriptors of the source property?

For example, I wonder whether a source property with configurable: false, and
writable: false attributes would be created on the cloned object with those
same attributes, or whether they would default back to configurable: true and
writable: true?

The algorithm is specific about the enumerable attribute--only enumerable: true
properties are considered for the clone.

Finally, I wouldn't expect to preserve the getter and setter functions as those
functions shouldn't be allowed through the cloning process--also there's a
pre-existing bug on a potential recursion issue in bug:
http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=12101

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Received on Wednesday, 2 March 2011 18:35:41 UTC