Re: After 5

On 16.9.2014 21:40, John Foliot wrote:
> Serious question: I would be very curious to know who you think "Joe 
> Developer" is?

Not that I think this is important but anyway -- anyone who develops web
pages/sites/applications and doesn't have resources to separately track
dozen of specs, spec related mailing list and release notes of all major
browsers.

> I am all in favor of having spec-build snapshots for those who dance on the 
> edges every day: we need those developers to help blaze the new trail. But we 
> also need a stable and fixed "Standard", not some amorphous digital crib-sheet 
> posing as a standard. By their very definition, Standards don't change - 
> that's why they are called a standard. "Living Standard" is an oxymoron of the 
> highest degree.

Although I'm far from being fan of "Living Standard" approach, "Fixed
Standard" is not good enough -- you need to know what parts of standard
are widely implemented and thus are ready to use. Developer needs simple
table where he/she can easily check whether he can safely use feature or
not. He doesn't care whether feature is defined in HTML spec, Canvas
spec or any other spec. He cares whether it's safe to use feature on
project for client who still uses IE8.

As features are almost exclusively added into platform, not removed, one
can imagine that fixed snapshots are created -- listing and defining
features which are ready to use at certain point of time. But that's
hard to achieve with "mastodont" like HTML spec.

> But for a significantly large percentage of the "Joe Developers" out there, we 
> need to remember that those folks don't have the luxury of dancing as close to 
> the edge as others; they want something that is standardized, referencable, 
> teachable, and consistent. Whatever we do, we need to remember that 
> constituency as well.

Indeed, but I don't think that having set of smaller specs prevents this.

    Jirka

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