Window Object 1.0

Window Object 1.0 Maciej Stachowiak mjs@apple.com Apple Computer, Inc.

http://apple.com/

Abstract

This specification defines the Window object, which provides the global namespace for web scripting languages, access to other documents in a compound document by reference, navigation to other locations, and timers. The Window object is a longstanding de facto standard for HTML user agents. However, it should not be assumed based on this or the name "Window" that it is limited to HTML or to visual user agents.

Status of this Document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in the W3C technical reports index at http://www.w3.org/TR/.

This document is produced by the Web API WG (part of the Rich Web Clients Activity). This document has no formal standing within the W3C. Please send comments to public-webapi@w3.org, the public email list for issues related to Web APIs.

The patent policy for this document is the 5 February 2004 W3C Patent Policy. Patent disclosures relevant to this specification may be found on the Web API Working Group's patent disclosure page. An individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes contains Essential Claim(s) with respect to this specification should disclose the information in accordance with section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy.

Publication as an Editor's Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress.

Table of contents

Introduction

The Window Object 1.0 specification defines a subset of the features of the Window object, a widely implemented part of HTML User Agents, with parts also found in non-HTML UAs that offer scripting and DOM access. With this specification, it is recommended for all implementations that present documents to the user or provide the equivalent of a browsing context.

The main purpose of the Window object is to provide the global namespace for script execution. This specification defines four features of the window object, in addition to its use for the global namespace. It describes the use of the Window object as a browsing context: a container that displays a document, or a series of documents in sequence. It describes interfaces for navigation, the ability to go to a new document in the same browsing context. It describes interfaces for embedding, a feature also known as compound document by reference, where one document includes another separate document by external reference. And finally it provides timers.

Examples of usage

(this section is informative)

Not in This Specification

(this section is informative)

This specification does not include the following features, which are also found on the Window Object in some implementations. It is possible they will defined by other specifications or found in a future version of this specification.

History (may have to reconsider this)
Access to frames by name (may have to reconsider this)
Opening new windows
Manipulating UI of existing windows
Window size and position information
Client information ("window.navigator")
Window events
Printing
Focus
Selection
Editing
Networking APIs
Handling of binary data

Conformance

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

Sometimes, for readability, conformance requirements are phrased as requirements on elements, attributes, methods, interfaces, properties or functions. In all cases these are conformance requirements on implementations.

This specification defines two classes of conformance:

conforming implementation: A conforming implementation of the Window Object specification is one that implements all the interfaces in this specification, and satisfies all other MUST, REQUIRED and SHALL level criteria in all parts of this document other than language binding appendices.
conforming ECMAScript implementation: A conforming ECMAScript implementation of the Window Object specification is a conforming implementation that maps all of the interfaces in this specification to ECMAScript, and satisfies the additional requirements in the ECMAScript Language Binding Appendix.

Browsing Contexts

Overview

The Window Interface

The DocumentWindow Interface interface DocumentWindow : views::DocumentView { // the defaultView must be the Window object };

Navigation

The WindowLocation Interface

The DocumentLocation Interface interface DocumentLocation { // must be same object as window.location // same special JS assignment as window.location readonly attribute Location location; };

The Location Interface interface Location { attribute DOMString href; // pieces of the URI, per the generic URI syntax attribute DOMString hash; // (fragment) attribute DOMString host; // hostname:port if port specified, attribute DOMString hostname; // just the hostname, no port attribute DOMString pathname; attribute DOMString port; attribute DOMString protocol; // scheme attribute DOMString search; // query void assign(in DOMString url); // go to the requested URL // does it make sense to spec reload and replace without specifying // history behavior at all? void replace(in DOMString url); void reload(); // same value as href; not all implementations have this explicitly // but toString is always available in ECMAScript, and probably this // should be explicit for the sake of Java. Or we could skip it since // it matches href. DOMString toString(); };

Embedding: Compound Documents by Reference

The WindowEmbedding Interface , , , , // or other embedding point, or null if none readonly attribute core::Element frameElement; };]]>

The EmbeddingElement Interface // must be on an object that also implements core::Element interface EmbeddingElement { readonly attribute core::Document contentDocument; readonly attribute Window contentWindow; };

Timers

The WindowTimers Interface

The TimerListener Interface // behavior is always special in ECMAScript, this is defined only for the benefit // of other languages interface TimerListener { // what to put here? };

Security Consideration

IDL Definitions

ECMAScript Language Binding

Acknowledgements

The WebAPI WG would like to thanks the following people for contributing to this specification:

References