- From: David Booth <david@dbooth.org>
- Date: Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:36:00 -0400
- To: "T.V Raman" <raman@google.com>
- Cc: nrm@arcanedomain.com, www-tag@w3.org
Hi T.V., On Tue, 2010-06-01 at 08:44 -0700, T.V Raman wrote: > Actually the maps use case is well understood in the sense that > it's using server-side params to encode state. It's unclear to me > at this point whether a system that is entirely server-side > params is in some way "better" than one that uses a combination > of client-side and server-side params -- note:5 years ago I'd > have answered differently ie, said "server-side params" are a > better pattern. Personally, I find it annoying that when I go to google maps at http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl and enter a location such as "1 pennsylvania avenue, washington, dc" and click "Search Maps", which brings me to a page displaying the desired map, it fails to update the URL in the browser. Thus, when I bookmark the location (or try to email the URL), even though the title says that I am book-marking "1 pennsylvania avenue, washington, dc", it reverts me back to the starting page! To my mind, this is going backwards, as it is creating a disconnection between the URL and the page that is displayed. It reminds me of when people give out turn-by-turn navigation instructions for reaching a desired web page ("Go to http://example/foobar, look in the left nav bar for 'Community events', click on 'This week', then click on 'Bake sale' half way down the page") instead of just publishing a specific URL for it. I assume that this behavior is the result of client-side Ajax calls or such, using hidden URLs that it constructs dynamically. And in this particular google maps example there is a "Link" icon on the right side of the page -- oops, I had to describe where it is, instead of just giving you the URL ;) -- which attempts to mitigate this problem by dynamically constructing a link for the currently viewed map (though I typically don't use it because the URL it generates is way too long and hard to read-- not good for email). The point is that this kind of disconnection between the URL in the location bar and the content that is displayed seems to me to be: (a) somewhat anti-web; and (b) increasingly associated with client-side processing based on client-generated (but hidden) URLs. -- David Booth, Ph.D. Cleveland Clinic (contractor) Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Cleveland Clinic.
Received on Tuesday, 1 June 2010 20:36:28 UTC