Re: Interoperability vs file: URLs

On 12/02/2014 02:22 AM, Jonas Sicking wrote:
> 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.

A bug has been file on your behalf:

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=27518

In response, I suggest that your proposal is a bit too extreme, and I 
suggest dialing it back a bit.

> / Jonas

- Sam Ruby

Received on Thursday, 4 December 2014 15:50:56 UTC