Re: wading into the Prefix morass...

On Feb 21, 2012, at 6:02 , Christoph Päper wrote:

> This is what implementers might be telling authors by use of prefixes:
> 
>  -VND- We invented it and may use it internally. Don’t use in the wild!
>        Similar features may be available in other browsers using
>        completely different names and incompatible syntax.
> 
>  -pd-  It’s been proposed to the W3C. Try it out in our nightlies.
>        Even our prototypical implementation is not stable.
>        Syntax will change. You have been warned.
> 
>  -ed-  It’s been accepted in general. Syntax may change at any time.
>        There might be a WD for it already, but we’re not satisfied 
>        with it or haven’t had time for it yet, either way, our
>        implementation doesn’t match the most current draft. Like 
>        -pd- it’s not available in public releases, but there may be
>        an opt-in switch.
> 
>  -wd-  It’s probably coming if others like it. Syntax should be stable,
>        but may have loopholes; border cases may be ambiguous or vague.
>        We make it available in public releases for everyone to test.
>        We will drop support for features thus prefixed with the first
>        release that follows a Call for Implementation.
> 
> Implementers may combine -pd-, -ed- and -wd- as -draft-.
> 
>  -lc-  It’s coming if others can implement it. Any upcoming revision
>        of syntax will be compatible, so adding it without a prefix
>        should be safe, although we don’t support that yet.
> 
>  -cr-  It’s defined in a stable draft, but we know our implementation
>        still contains bugs or follows an earlier draft. You may use
>        it without prefix for other or future implementations.
> 
>  -pr-  Basically the same as -cr-.
> 
>  -rec- Basically the same as -rec-.
> 
> The prefixes -cr-, -pr- and -rec- may be combined into -bugs-.
> 

I think this is overkill; features don't change nearly as often as this.

David Singer
Multimedia and Software Standards, Apple Inc.

Received on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 22:32:39 UTC