Re: CfC: Create Media Task Force

On 4/13/2012 5:59 PM, Robert O'Callahan wrote:
> On Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 3:59 AM, Adrian Bateman 
> <adrianba@microsoft.com <mailto:adrianba@microsoft.com>> wrote
>
>     There have been questions asked about exactly how those other CDMs
>     will work.
>     I don't think we know that yet. This is an extension point that
>     will allow
>     experimentation and innovation. It's a bit like asking how the
>     Canvas getContext()
>     method will be used. What if people build proprietary context APIs
>     tied to a
>     particular platform? What if they use license encumbered
>     technology? Well, we'll
>     consider them when we see the details but at the same time
>     allowing other context
>     standards to be developed has been useful.
>
>
> [In my opinion, getContext() was a mistake. We could have and should 
> have just as easily added new DOM attributes "context2d", 
> "contextWebGL" etc. People could still experiment with "mozContext3d" 
> and the like. For some reason people see the string parameter to 
> getContext() as an escape hatch from the world of Web standards...]
>
> It's totally OK to have scope for experimentation, as long as the 
> experiments are eventually standardized or dropped.

getContext() allowed people to develop unobtrusive JS shims for a a very 
out-of-the-ordinary web API.

It was a huge help and all it cost us was a single method call. It's 
still helpful with the current experimental-webgl space.

There are several bodies developing standards, and vendors get to pick 
and chose.

If you want an escape-hatch from the world of web standards, you can use 
an object tag, you can -be- a browser vendor,
and you can just go ahead and self-publish new standards. It's all 
common-place.

If we needed full consensus across the parties, we'd be stuck with a 
sub-set of HTML4.

-Charles