Re: Feedback about WebNFC API

On Tue, Mar 17, 2020 at 10:27 AM Olivier LORENTE <olivier.lorente@st.com>
wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I’m currently updating our webNFC demo to use the new API.
>
>
>
> I’m working in Chrome Beta (version 81). I have enabled the flag
> #experimental-web-platform-features.
>
> BTW, at the beginning I didn’t notice that the flag name has changed. I
> was updating the old webNFC flag which is still present. For early users
> (who used the old flag), it might help to highlight this change.
>
>
>
> Unfortunately I still have the issue "NDEFReader is not defined" when the
> line:
>
> if ('NDEFReader' in window) {
>
> is called. Do you know what I could have missed?
>

NDEFReader and NDEFWriter interfaces are available only in Chrome for
Android.
If you've enabled the appropriate flag on Android, I wonder if you have the
most up-to-date version of Chrome Beta. Check out play store on your
device: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chrome.beta&hl=en
You can also check out https://github.com/GoogleChrome/samples/issues/677 in
case I've missed some details.



>
>
> It could be due to permission because Chrome Dev didn’t ask me yet the
> permission to access NFC.
>
>
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Regards
>
> Olivier
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Olivier LORENTE
> *Sent:* mercredi 11 mars 2020 11:14
> *To:* 'Christiansen, Kenneth R' <kenneth.r.christiansen@intel.com>;
> public-web-nfc@w3.org; François Beaufort 🇫🇷 <fbeaufort@google.com>
> *Subject:* RE: Feedback about WebNFC API
>
>
>
> Hi Kenneth,
>
> Thank you for the explanation concerning the Origin Trial, I had not
> understood that it is possible to do this.
>
>
>
> Concerning transceive, when you say “exposing APDU”, do you mean exposing
> some APDU commands from Type4 or ISO7816 standards?
>
> In my opinion this will less flexible than exposing the transceive
> function.
>
> In fact, depending of the tag used, a specific transceive should be used:
>
> ·       The transceive defined in nfcA (
> https://developer.android.com/reference/android/nfc/tech/NfcA) is used
> for Type2 Tags.
>
> ·       The transceive defined in ISODEP (
> https://developer.android.com/reference/android/nfc/tech/IsoDep) is used
> for Type4A Tags.
>
> ·       The transceive defined in nfcV (
> https://developer.android.com/reference/android/nfc/tech/NfcV) is used
> for Type5 Tags.
>
>
>
> I’m available for a conference meeting if you wish. I’m in France so my
> time zone is Central European Time.
>
>
>
> Best regards
>
> Olivier
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Christiansen, Kenneth R <kenneth.r.christiansen@intel.com>
> *Sent:* mercredi 4 mars 2020 22:43
> *To:* Olivier LORENTE <olivier.lorente@st.com>; public-web-nfc@w3.org;
> François Beaufort 🇫🇷 <fbeaufort@google.com>
> *Subject:* RE: Feedback about WebNFC API
>
>
>
> Hi there Olivier,
>
>
>
> Ø  Also, another limitation for the developers is the required use of
> flags. It limits the use of the NFC web app to only very early adopters,
> and no pilot can be run.
>
>
>
> This is exactly what the Origin Trial solves as it allows sites and apps
> to add the token to their web sites so that users do not need to do
> anything. That way they can use the feature before it is officially
> shipping.
>
>
>
> The transceive() method won’t be part of the initial version of the API
> because that will block shipping and handling security is different that
> for NDEF so a lot of thoughts need to be done around that.
>
>
>
> Tranceive also very much depends on the underlying protocol. Like exposing
> APDU might be much more valuable that exposing NFC-A or ISO-DEP which it is
> often implemented on top of. I have done some research in this area but it
> might be valuable doing a conference meeting with you to get your thoughts
> for that.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Kenneth
>
>
>
> *From:* Olivier LORENTE <olivier.lorente@st.com>
> *Sent:* Monday, March 2, 2020 10:10 AM
> *To:* public-web-nfc@w3.org
> *Subject:* Feedback about WebNFC API
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
>
>
> STMicroelectronics is developing NFC Tags, Dynamic Tags and Readers for a
> wide range of applications (
> https://www.st.com/en/nfc/st25-nfc-rfid-tags-readers.html).
>
> We have followed with interest what has been done in the last years by the
> Web NFC Community Group and we are glad to see that the project recently
> moved to a new phase with the beginning of the “Origin Trial” phase. We
> have seen that you are asking for feedbacks about this feature so we take
> this opportunity to share our view.
>
>
>
> We see this project as a great opportunity to develop an NFC Web App that
> will maybe, one day, work on most browsers and OSes (iOS for instance).
> This would open many opportunities since the same Progressive Web App would
> work in every environments. Today our customers have to develop and
> maintain dedicated Android and iOS Apps. Having a WebApp has some other
> advantages: You always run the up-to-date version (with the latest fixes)
> and Users don’t have to install anything. For these reasons, this WebNFC
> project is promising.
>
>
>
> We have used your API 2 years ago and developed a small demo reading and
> writing NDEF records in our tags. It worked fine. For the moment, the
> WebNFC API is limited to the read/write of NDEF content only, and this is a
> limiting factor for the use and the development of NFC apps. Indeed, the
> use cases are limited to “frozen” use cases, while adding a general purpose
> “transceive()” command would enable many more IoT use cases: Setting and
> reading sensors, personalizing a device before use, developing home
> automation applications, adding security (passwords, crypto). Especially on
> type V tags which are now fully supported with a transceiver type of
> command on both Android and iOS.
>
>
>
> Also, another limitation for the developers is the required use of flags.
> It limits the use of the NFC web app to only very early adopters, and no
> pilot can be run.
>
>
>
> So as early adopters, our feedback is that we are convinced that the
> potential of NFC webApp is huge. But unlocking a “transceive()” function as
> well as the use of flags will take it to the next step.
>
>
>
> Best regards
>
> Olivier
>