Re: A List Apart: Articles: Prefix or Posthack

At 1:57 PM -0700 7/8/10, Zack Weinberg wrote:
>"Tab Atkins Jr." <jackalmage@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>  On Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 12:32 PM, Eric A. Meyer <eric@meyerweb.com>
>>  wrote:
>>
>>  Note, though, that prefixed properties aren't maintained forever.
>>  Firefox, for example, tends to drop their prefixed versions two or
>>  three releases after they introduce the unprefixed version.
>
>Firefox is now dropping the prefixed version at the same time that it
>introduces unprefixed versions.  I personally think this is not a good
>idea, but dbaron disagrees.

    Really?  I wasn't aware of that, and it strikes me as a bad idea 
as well-- mostly because that WILL lead to breakage, guaranteed.  As 
will any dropping of support for a previously recognized property.
    If that's how things start going with other browsers, then I'll 
have to renounce my ALA article and throw my support behind 
Christoph's proposal that prefixed properties only operate locally 
and never when loaded from another domain.  It's the only way I can 
see to avoid having styles suddenly stop working a year or two after 
they're written.
    Well, except for NOT yanking recognition for prefixed versions of 
properties, of course.  That would also work.
    I don't see how dropping prefixing is necessary or even desirable. 
All you have to do long-term is just map both prefixed and unprefixed 
to the same behavior.  Seems pretty straightforward and low-impact to 
me.

-- 
Eric A. Meyer (eric@meyerweb.com)     http://meyerweb.com/

Received on Thursday, 8 July 2010 21:19:32 UTC