Re: [whatwg] HTTP status code from JavaScript

On May 25, 2014, at 13:48, Michael Heuberger
<michael.heuberger@binarykitchen.com> wrote:

>>> * It is a redundancy. The browser already knows the status code, just
>>> not JavaScript.
>> That argument can equally well be used the other way round: it's a
>> redundancy to expose in JS something that be easily exposed by the
>> server.
>
> I understand your perspective but you cannot compare two entirely
> different things. Don't forget that most modern web apps are 99% driven
> by JavaScript.

That's data's made and far from the truth. :-)

> If the server returns a 404, JavaScript is still unable
> to read the initial HTTP status code. Think about it :)

How so? What prevents the server from adding a 404 status code in HTML markup?

>>> * Adding inline JS <script> slows down the page load.
>> In that case, use a meta tag:
>>
>> <meta name=http-status content=404>
>>
>> Then in JS:
>>
>> var status = parseInt(document.querySelector("meta[name=http-status]").getAttribute("content"));
>>
>> Should this pattern become pervasive, it might bathe sense to
>> standardize it and expose it in JS. Frankly, though, it's the first
>> time I hear of such a request.
>
> That would work but is an overhead, a redundancy. Why add another meta
> tag if the status code is already in the HTTP header??

This would be an overhead for *your* application. But adding code
that's very much specific to your use case to the whole platform
creates overhead for browser vendors which have to implement and
maintain that code.

> Yes, it's interesting why nobody has suggested this before. There is
> always a first time. Probably I am the first to ask for this feature
> because I've been working heavily with SPA's and node.js in the recent
> years.

Possibly. Should that usage become common, I'm sure your request will
be reconsidered.

> Really, it would be awesome if JavaScript could read the HTTP status code!

I agree. But there are plenty of other things which would also be
awesome were they added to the platform and would enable use cases
which cannot be hacked around server side, or would enable more common
use cases.

Hope this helps explain why there are little chances of this being
implemented in the near future.

--tobie

Received on Sunday, 25 May 2014 12:51:59 UTC