Re: Is WebGPU about to be used for user interface rendering

Hi Jason,

I noticed in recent discussion of the Iced GUI library that there are plans to support the WebGPU API. This raises the possibility that WebGPU could be used to render an entire user interface, bypassing most, if not all, accessibility-related technologies on the Web.
That sounds like HTML 5 <canvas> element, and the resultant shadow DOM 
all over again.

Plus ça change


    Joshue O'Connor
Director / InterAccess.ie
(+353) 01 961 0059












------ Original Message ------
From "Jason J.G. White" <jason@jasonjgw.net>
To "RQTF" <public-rqtf@w3.org>
Date 13/03/2024 14:11:33
Subject Is WebGPU about to be used for user interface rendering

>I noticed in recent discussion of the Iced GUI library that there are plans to support the WebGPU API. This raises the possibility that WebGPU could be used to render an entire user interface, bypassing most, if not all, accessibility-related technologies on the Web.
>
>https://www.w3.org/TR/webgpu/
>
>https://github.com/iced-rs/iced/blob/master/wgpu/README.md
>
>It should be noted that, in the desktop application world, the recently released Zed text editor takes a similar approach - rendering most of its user interface directly to the GPU for performance reasons.
>
>https://github.com/zed-industries/zed
>
>The README file in that repository refers to a GitHub issue for "Web" support, so this could actually be heading to the browser environment as well. In desktop operating systems, of course, existing APIs could be implemented to support accessibility, but besides the Accessibility Object Model - still actively developed? - we don't have an equivalent for the Web, as far as I know.
>
>We concluded at the RQTF meeting that this issue should be considered by the broader APA Working Group.
>
>