- From: Maciej Stachowiak <mjs@apple.com>
- Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:58:30 -0700
- To: Joe D Williams <joedwil@earthlink.net>
- Cc: Dan Connolly <connolly@w3.org>, public-html@w3.org
Hi Joe, On Aug 24, 2009, at 8:37 PM, Joe D Williams wrote: >> something about mechanisms provided by <object param=...> that >> don't seem to be provided by <video>. I hope somebody sends >> mail about that soon > > Hi, > I think it isn't about > > <object param='xx' > > it is about > <object type='mime' ... other standard attrs> > <param name='xxx' value='ccc'> > <param name='ddd' value='eee'> > ...maybe more optional <param> elements > <fallbackhtml> stuff></fallbackhtml> > </object> > > The param elements establish DOM interfaces to and from the nested > context. > In general, the best use of <param> elements I have seen is to > provide optional or required runtime info to and from the native > device or plugin device that is running the content. The <param>(s) > give ways to transport name-value pairs that are not defined as part > of the standard html language <object> interface. It is complicated, > but the general idea is that the host may get the embedded or native > application running then send and receive runtime stuff through the > params. If the info is defined, like for media elements such as > <video> that have a list of standard attributes, the configurable > params are not now provided. > Yes, this is what is generally used to pass initialization parameters to plugins invoked via <object>. Since the capabilities of plugins are completely open-ended, it's hard to define attributes up front that pass in the needed information. What I'm not clear on is how this would apply to <video> or <audio>. These have a limited purpose, and parameters can be passed in via the predefined attributes on the element. In existing implementations, the set of codecs is either hardcoded or serviced by a more limited plugin interface that cannot accept arbitrary parameters. I'm not totally sure I follow all of your message, but it seems like maybe you are saying the same thing, that <param> doesn't seem like it makes sense for a fixed-function element like <video>. So I'm not really clear on what <param> elements for <video> or <audio> would do. Can anyone give a concrete example of how <param> might be used with these elements? Regards, Maciej
Received on Tuesday, 25 August 2009 06:59:12 UTC