Re: Explicit feature manifesting for backward-compatibility safety (Was: Comment syntax)

On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 5:20 PM, Marat Tanalin | tanalin.com
<mtanalin@yandex.ru> wrote:
> 28.08.2012, 03:27, "Tab Atkins Jr." <jackalmage@gmail.com>:
>> "Big red switches" like this are an anti-pattern.  Occasionally they
>> can be useful, but they're hazardous and should be avoided if
>> possible.
>
> We already have this "anti-pattern" with DOCTYPE and with X-UA-Compatible. If language cannot be improved without such switches, this is fine pragmatic way to go that is much better than doing nothing.

Yup, DOCTYPE switching was a necessary solution to a very bad compat
problem.  The benefit outweighed the badness.  X-UA-Compatible is
similar (though note that it's not endorsed by any vendors other than
IE and Chrome Frame, I think, because the pain isn't worth it to
anyone else).

You have to justify the big red switch.  I don't think // comments
come *anywhere* near sufficient benefit to overcome the pain of a
switch.

~TJ