- From: Ian Hickson <ian@hixie.ch>
- Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:57:03 +0000 (UTC)
On Sat, 13 Jun 2009, Robert O'Callahan wrote: > On Sat, Jun 13, 2009 at 6:39 AM, Ian Hickson <ian at hixie.ch> wrote: > > > The long and short of this is that if we solve this problem today, the > > solution will be abused as much as the current API, and we'll have to > > introduce yet another solution when high-res backing stores are common. So > > instead I'm hoping that (a) authors won't screw this up, and (b) high-res > > backing stores will be implemented sooner rather than later. If we fail > > with (a), which is more likely if (b) is delayed, then we'll just > > introduce a higher-res API later, and designate this one a lost cause. > > Whether high-resolution backing stores are implemented or not is > irrelevant as long as most authors are testing their scripts on systems > configured with a 1:1 ratio of CSS pixels to device pixels. So in > practice you're also relying on (c) rapid deployment of high-dpi screens > to canvas-using Web developers. That's why I think you hope in vain. > > Altering the current API so that it always uses one image-data pixel per > CSS pixel would not make it useless. Everything people are currently > using it for will continue to work just fine and the visual results will > be just as good as what people are currently seeing. It's just that > we'll need a new API in the future to take maximum advantage of > hardware. Right, but that would be less optimal than if we could just re-use today's API, hence the hope. There's no practical difference as far as I can tell between hoping that we can reuse the API, and then finding we can't, and introducing a second API for high-res screens; and just giving up now and saying that it's a low-res API, and then adding a second API later when we have high-res screens. The effect is more or less the same. Given that, I think it's worth at least trying to see if we get away with it and can in fact use this API in high-res situations later. -- Ian Hickson U+1047E )\._.,--....,'``. fL http://ln.hixie.ch/ U+263A /, _.. \ _\ ;`._ ,. Things that are impossible just take longer. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'
Received on Friday, 12 June 2009 23:57:03 UTC