Re: [whatwg/url] Provide a succinct grammar for valid URL strings (#479)

> @aucampia, it is a solved problem. The differences between whatwg URL and IRI are minor, but they are very subtle and tricky to get right.

To me it is not solved really, it may be solvable, but if I want to figure out what to put in a grammar to describe a URL I need to have a grammar for a URL, and given there is no such grammar it is not solved. Of course this could be mostly my problem and WHATWG can see it outside of their scope, but it is none the less something I want and I'm not sure it is an unreasonable desire. I'm not an academic, I don't even have a degree, I'm just an Engineer, but a grammar makes reasoning about things much simpler than the algorithm in this spec.

However I appreciate the explanation.

> Meanwhile, if nobody else wants to take action, the editors may as well explicitly mark this issue as wontfix and close it.

I agree with this, I don't think it is helpful to maintain an expectation if there is no interest in meeting it.

> IMO, matters like venue or formal vs algorithmic expression are distractions. We can switch between them at any point in the future, or even offer both at the same time, with no functional differences. Not one computer system in the entire universe would become more/less capable, more/less reliable, or more/less secure -- which means it's not engineering; it's politics.

I disagree here. Having a defined grammar does present for options of increasing reliability of computer systems. By my estimation a defined grammar (i.e. defined in ABNF) can be translated into code much easier and with less errors than [basic URL parser](https://url.spec.whatwg.org/#concept-basic-url-parser) from this spec which is written in English and that needs a human to execute it.


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Received on Wednesday, 25 May 2022 11:27:15 UTC