Re: AudioContext suspend/resume/release

An interesting question.  If we were to expose the document's default
output context (we don't), yes, releasing that would mute the page - or at
least, the <audio> and <video> elements on the page.  In order to expose
that sanely, we'd also need to document how plugins hook in to the audio
system, which is a whole other can of worms I'd rather not open just yet.

On Tue, Sep 9, 2014 at 2:22 PM, Alex Russell <slightlyoff@google.com> wrote:

> The pattern you're describing seems fine to me. What's the relationship
> between this `release()` the document's default output context. Is it
> possible to likewise "mute a page" by releasing that too?
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 29, 2014 at 12:28 PM, Chris Wilson <cwilso@google.com> wrote:
>
>> Hello TAG!
>>
>> We're discussing an issue in the Web Audio API (
>> https://github.com/WebAudio/web-audio-api/issues/317) of the need for
>> suspending and resuming AudioContexts for power consumption reasons.
>>  Alongside this, we've found the need to be able to release AudioContexts
>> completely - in short, AudioContexts may be consuming system resources, and
>> we need a way for developers to definitively state "I'm done with this
>> now", aside from just releasing references and hoping the GC takes care of
>> it.
>>
>> The current proposal
>> <http://cwilso.github.io/web-audio-api/proposals.html#widl-AudioContext-release-Promise>
>> is to add a method to the AudioContext interface:
>>
>> Promise release ();
>>
>> Releases the audio context, including any system resources used by it.
>> This will not automatically release all AudioContext-created objects,
>> unless other references have been released as well; however, it will
>> forcibly release any system resources that might prevent additional
>> AudioContexts from being created and used. The promise resolves when any
>> AudioContext-creation-blocking resources have been released.
>>
>> Do you have any concerns over this pattern?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> -Chris
>>
>>
>