Re: [File System APIs] If one is good, then two must be better?

On Feb 4, 2014, at 6:15 AM, Charles McCathie Nevile wrote:

> On Mon, 03 Feb 2014 19:09:53 +0400, Arthur Barstow <art.barstow@nokia.com> wrote:
> 
>> On 1/31/14 10:44 AM, ext Ian Clelland wrote:
>>> Hi Art,
>>> 
>>> For what it's worth, theFile API: Directories and System is also implemented (and supported) by Apache Cordova[1]. The implementation is essentially complete for mobile applications on Android, iOS and FireOS, with nearly-complete support on Blackberry and Windows Phone.
>>> 
>>> While our plugin registry was counting downloads, it was the most-downloaded plugin for the platform by a wide margin, so I believe it is being used actively.
>> 
>> Thanks for this information Ian!
>> 
>>> I don't know if Cordova should count as a browser implementation for the purposes of this WG, but we are implementing the APIs and making them available to (hybrid) web application developers.
>> 
>> The group has some flexibility regarding the specifics of the interoperability criteria used to advance a spec along the Recommendation track, but we haven't talked about the criteria for these specs since they are still working drafts.
> 
> And the particular question here isn't about CR criteria, but about whether one or other approach is more likely to achieve the consensus of interoperable implementation.
> 
> Which essentially means whether implementations are likely to switch, or credible future implementors have a strong preference for one over the other.
> 
> In which case, what Cordova does (and more to the point what developers do with it) seems relevant information to consider as we try to find a consensus.



Two interoperable implementations of a specification should determine the way forward. While I think distributions like PhoneGap are extremely useful as "web-like abstractions" on top of disparate mobile platforms, it is not straightforward to make a clear "apples to apples" comparision for API interoperability between PhoneGap and a web browser, or conduct common test cases. Naturally, the distinctions blur, but I still think they exist.

A web page using the FileSystem API in JavaScript and working in two separate browser implementations seems like a good measure of interoperability, and I think this should be what helps us make a determination.

-- A*

Received on Tuesday, 4 February 2014 16:48:59 UTC