Re: Interoperability vs file: URLs (was: URL Spec WorkMode)

On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 7:58 PM, Sam Ruby <rubys@intertwingly.net> wrote:
> On 12/01/2014 10:22 PM, Jonas Sicking wrote:
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 7:11 PM, Domenic Denicola <d@domenic.me> wrote:
>>>
>>> What we really need to do is get some popular library or website to take
>>> a
>>> dependency on mobile Chrome or mobile Safari's file URL parsing. *Then*
>>> we'd
>>> get interoperability, and quite quickly I'd imagine.
>>
>>
>> To my knowledge, all browsers explicitly block websites from having
>> any interactions with file:// URLs. I.e. they don't allow loading an
>> <img> from file:// or even link to a file:// HTML page using <a
>> href="file://...">. Even though both those are generally allowed cross
>> origin.
>>
>> So it's very difficult for webpages to depend on the behavior of
>> file:// parsing, even if they were to intentionally try.
>
> Relevant related reading, look at the description that the current URL
> Living Standard provides for the origin for file: URLs:
>
> https://url.spec.whatwg.org/#origin
>
> I tend to agree with Jonas.  Ideally the spec would match existing browser
> behavior.  When that's not possible, getting agreements from browser vendors
> on the direction would suffice.
>
> When neither exist, a more accurate description (such as the one cited above
> in the Origin part of the URL Standard) is appropriate.

To be clear, I'm proposing to remove any and all normative definition
of file:// handling from the spec. Because I don't think there is
interoperability, nor do I think that it's particularly high priority
to archive it.

/ Jonas

Received on Tuesday, 2 December 2014 07:23:05 UTC