RE: Custom protocol and content handlers (section 4.5.1)

On mature desktop platforms, yes (to Anne's question).

However this is not quite the case [yet] on mobile internet devices/clients. To cover both cases and drive more consistent behavior in this respect, it would be better to call this out explicitly.

On further reflection, I think there are three kinds of integration that can enable new scenarios/applications with type of infrastructure:
1. Custom protocols
2. Content types
3. URL handlers (an installed application must be able to register with the user-agent and intercept/examine and takeover specific HTTP requests).

For scenario #3 - For instance, Foo.inc may have a web application hosted on http://www.foo.com and may later decide to provide a richer user experience to users who chose to download and install a 'HiFiFoo' application on their internet client. Now, this newly installed application will want to look at all URLs to the domain *.foo.com so that it can intercept them and provide a richer end-user experience via it's own featureset.

The more I think about it, this area may best be addressed through it's own spec (and linked to this HTML5 spec).

Shyam Habarakada
Microsoft Corporation

On Sat, 26 Jan 2008 23:41:16 +0100, Shyam Habarakada
<shyamh@microsoft.com> wrote:
> [...]
>
> There is related behavior where the user-agent behavior should be called
> out explicitly*. That is, an application installed on the client must be
> able to register protocol and content handlers such that the user-agent
> can seamlessly pass control of said protocols and content to the correct
> application. With that, service providers and application developers
> would gain additional flexibility in providing end-users the choice of
> using either web-based services or installed applications to manage
> their tasks/information.
>
> * Is the HTML5 spec the right place for this?

Isn't that what happens when the user installs software or can configure
in that software? The API defined in HTML 5 is intended for Web
applications that want to register for handling protocols. (Such as an
e-mail application registering for mailto.)


--
Anne van Kesteren
<http://annevankesteren.nl/>
<http://www.opera.com/>

Received on Tuesday, 29 January 2008 17:31:12 UTC