Re: Seeking pre-LCWD comments for View Modes Media Feature; deadline March 17

On Mar 10, 2010, at 9:09 AM, Robin Berjon wrote:

>> 2. I don't understand why this is restricted to Widgets...
>>    A HTML page can be dropped on a desktop or be rendered chromeless
>>    by Mozilla Prism. A web page can be rendered in a browser in
>>    fullscreen mode, etc. All values still make sense in the case of
>>    a browser.
>>  I think this spec should be made app-agnostic and Widgets should not
>>  be the only target.
> 
> I don't see why that would be an issue. Do you see the need to change anything (other than some terminology) in the draft to achieve that?

It looks to me that saying whether or not the viewport is transparent or not is not the important thing, but whether or not it is running within application and/or OS chrome or not. So, in attempting to understand the view modes, I was categorizing them in my mind thusly:

application (maybe "windowed" or something else would be a better word): the HTML (or whatever) is running within a "normal" window, or whatever the OS normally puts just outside the viewport for Web pages and such. So, even in a windowless OS such as the iPhone, you would see a status bar, application control buttons, etc.

floating: there may be OS chrome (menu bar, status bar, etc.) but there is no window or chrome directly associated with that particular widget or Web page. This would include such things as Opera Widgets, which exist within the application space alongside any open Opera windows, but which have no window chrome of their own.

fullscreen: there is no OS chrome showing (unless, perhaps, it is seen through the transparent portions of the widget? I'm thinking that at least a desktop image might show through, or other applications. Otherwise, what? Solid black?). There is no window or chrome showing that is directly associated with that particular widget or Web page, because the viewport is filling the current screen or possibly filling all monitors (it may exist beyond the edges of the screen(s) though, possibly). The OS or application would report to the widget/page whether or not it was in this kiosk-like mode, and it doesn't actually matter to the widget/page if that mode includes a transparent viewport or not.

maximized: exactly like "application", but the OS or application is reporting to the widget/page that it is in a maximized mode, and it doesn't matter if that mode includes a transparent viewport or not. This might never happen in a Mac application, BTW, as the notion of maximized doesn't always follow the Windows notion.

minimized: more or less like "application", except that the "window" is really whatever chrome the OS or application adds or doesn't add to the display for individual docked items (a beveled edge, drop shadow, margin from other minimized things, etc.). The OS or application would report to the widget/page whether or not it was in this minimized mode, and it doesn't matter if that mode includes a transparent viewport or not.