Re: [w3c/manifest] Distinction between browser and minimal-ui (Issue #1023)

> There is no guidance on what the distinction between browser and minimal-ui should be.
> How is browser different from minimal-ui? The spec doesn't say.

They are indeed similar... just to get a shared understanding, this has been our working model (apologies this was not clear):

 * "browser" is exactly the same behavior you get if you bookmark a web page: the web application is launched amongst other browser tabs/windows if the web browser is already open - or in a new tab, if the browser wasn't running. To the end-user, "browser" looks and feels exactly like any other web page/application and it's clear that application is running inside the a browser: "I can see the web page is running inside Firefox/Chrome/Safari/Edge". 

 * "minimal-ui": this launches in its own window but not with other browser tabs or identifiable/browser-branded UI  (i.e., it looks like a self contained web application). The UI that is provided is "minimal": like a back/forward/refresh buttons, maybe address bar that is "read-only" and no browser tabs. The user shouldn't be able to say, "it's running in < web browser name here >"... the application is fully "self contained".   

> If minimal-ui and browser both have the same controls, do both values of display-mode match? What if app manifest was used to explicitly invoke one or the other?

No. Browsers have things like tabs, often clear branding, bookmaking facilities, and other things that "minimal-ui" wouldn't have. Think of it like a bare-bones unbranded browser where you can only view this one web application.    

> Is browser allowed to have fewer controls than minimal-ui? That seems somewhat unlikely in major products like Safari and Chrome, but the spec definition is loose enough that it seems allowed, if a platform's conventions for hyperlinks has less UI than what minimal-ui calls for.

Browser would always have more controls (i.e., "it's a real browser"). Minimal UI as shown on latest Chrome/Android: 
![Screen Shot 2021-12-07 at 11 53 08 am](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/870154/144946108-f3de9bcb-ea2d-414e-a7c8-1b97ad9c5ac4.png)

(Provides back in the hardware button, forward, reload, and other useful, but limited, things...)

Hopefully that makes more sense now... happy to coordinate in tightening up that text. 


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Received on Tuesday, 7 December 2021 00:55:53 UTC