Re: WebPlatform Browser Support Info

On Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Ronald Mansveld wrote:
> Tobie Langel schreef op 2013-10-19 14:54:
> > So what would these URLs actually point to?
> >  
> > My feeling is you don't really want to consider this info as a data
> > object in itself but as a filter, which is why I'd imagine it much
> > more in a query string then in the url itself. E.g.: filtering the
> > test results for test foobar:
> >  
> > …/tests/foobar?browser=chrome&device-manufacturer=samsung&device-family=galaxy&device-model=s3
> >  
> > --tobie
> At this point I have made no assumptions on where those URL's link to,  
> other then that those URL's will always reply with a 301 to a document  
> with more information. Whether that is the w3c or whatwg-spec in case of  
> features, a page on mobilehtml5.org (http://mobilehtml5.org) that tells more about the device or  
> browser, or some other page that explains what it is we're talking about  
> remains to be decided.

Creating dummy URLs that don't point to meaningful data is as meaningless as UUID and perhaps more confusing. For example, although UA strings are a meaningful identifier, they don't need to be tied to a URL.
> However, because we use dedicated URL's on  
> data.webplatform.org (http://data.webplatform.org), those URL's (and thus the identifier) can stay the  
> same, while the redirect can change whenever needed, ie when a feature  
> is moved from spec A to spec B.

That's a different issue altogether. Although I see the benefits of this extra-level of indirection, I also see its downsides (much like t.co URLs have advantages--shortness--and disadvantages, you have no idea what they point to).

Is the threat of moving references really that serious that we want to cater for it? If so, wouldn't migrating the data be a good enough solution?

Do we know for sure we will want to redirect the URLs in all cases (e.g. a test run should point to the test that was actually run, not its updated version)?

--tobie

Received on Saturday, 19 October 2013 13:23:56 UTC