Re: [whatwg] HTTP status code from JavaScript

Good points Mat

In theory you have good points but in the real world it is more
complicated than that. See my comments below:

On 23/05/14 19:49, Mat Carey wrote:
>> - Notify the administrator about a 404 by email with a response back to
>> the server
> But the server already knows about the 404, JS shouldn’t be needed/used to re-inform the server of the status it’s already sent.

Nowadays you can access other entities directly, i.E. a RIAK Database
server which returns a 404 if the ID in the query does not exist which
can be a raw HTTP request. This without any app logic in-between.

... or you have a cloud with multiple servers but only one of them is
responsible for error reporting.

It is just an example. I could count more use cases where the feature is
really needed.

>> - Display a beautiful 404 page and hide parts of the navigation
>> - Reveal navigation history to give users a better usability experience
>> during 404s
>> - And many more …
> I agree with those entirely but couldn’t they also be achieved by including the correct scripts on the 404 page issued from the server?

No, it is a single page app. All the HTML templates are on the client
side and loaded once during page load. And everything happens
dynamically. In other words: You load everything once, then there is no
further interaction with the server unless it's a specific query for
data or alters data in the database.

Furthermore you can convert a whole single page app into an iPhone app
with PhoneGap. All the HTML resides in the app, not on the server.
That's a very different approach and a good reason why JavaScript has
the right to know if the HTTP request resulted into a 200 or a 404.

Cheers
Michael

>
> (I’m not against the original suggestion, I just don’t think these particular use-cases demand a new feature)
>
> Mat Carey
> 07952258096
>
> On 23 May 2014, at 07:52, Michael Heuberger <michael.heuberger@binarykitchen.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Julian
>>
>> Yes, with "AJAX" requests I meant using XMLHTTPRequest.
>>
>>> If the initial page load yields a 404 will there be any scripts to
>>> execute at all?
>> Oh yes, absolutely. Have you ever written a single page app? There is
>> lots of logic to execute when a 404 occurs. I could count plenty of use
>> cases and functions that make sense. Here some examples:
>> - Notify the administrator about a 404 by email with a response back to
>> the server
>> - Display a beautiful 404 page and hide parts of the navigation
>> - Reveal navigation history to give users a better usability experience
>> during 404s
>> - And many more ...
>>
>> All these above examples run on JavaScript. Because there is currently
>> no way for JavaScript to determine if the page load yielded a 404, a
>> subsequent request, namely a XMLHTTPRequest one is often added. In my
>> professional opinion a bad solution.
>>
>> Again, I strongly believe that this would be a huge improvement and
>> avoids unnecessary network traffic.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Michael
>>
>> -- 
>>
>> Binary Kitchen
>> Michael Heuberger
>> 4c Dunbar Road
>> Mt Eden
>> Auckland 1024
>> (New Zealand)
>>
>> Mobile (text only) ...  +64 21 261 89 81
>> Email ................  michael@binarykitchen.com
>> Website ..............  http://www.binarykitchen.com
>>

-- 

Binary Kitchen
Michael Heuberger
4c Dunbar Road
Mt Eden
Auckland 1024
(New Zealand)

Mobile (text only) ...  +64 21 261 89 81
Email ................  michael@binarykitchen.com
Website ..............  http://www.binarykitchen.com

Received on Friday, 23 May 2014 08:05:25 UTC