What Web Can Do Today • Hacker News Board

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#11

Post by Sephr » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:09 PM UTC

Why is the Network Information API still a thing? I don't feel like it should even be listed on this website, as it's an anti-feature. It only encourages discrimination on connection types, as it doesn't expose the only important part: is this connection metered?

Developers are going to use this API to serve me higher resolution assets over my metered WiFi & Ethernet connections (assuming they are unmetered) and lower resolution assets over my unmetered cellular LTE connection (assuming it's metered).

WiFi vs cellular vs Ethernet is not important. What's important is the usage policy behind the connection, and in its current state, the Network Information API can only be used to harm my user experience.

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#12

Post by paulirish » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:12 PM UTC

r3bl wrote: post #10

I really wish there's a way to check what other popular browsers can do without having to install them and open up the website.

Just click in on any of the features and you'll get details including the full cross-browser support.

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#13

Post by Raed667 » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:16 PM UTC

Sephr wrote: post #11

Why is the Network Information API still a thing? I don't feel like it should even be listed on this website, as it's an anti-feature. It only encourages discrimination on connection types, as it doesn't expose the only important part: is this connection metered? Developers are going to use this API to serve me higher resolution assets over my metered WiFi & Ethernet connections (assuming they are unmetered) and lowe…

I think this is important in case of 2G/3G/LTE distinction. Where phones that can access only 2G networks should get served "light" version of websites.

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#14

Post by wildmusings » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:17 PM UTC

paulirish wrote: post #12

r3bl wrote: post #10

I really wish there's a way to check what other popular browsers can do without having to install them and open up the website.

Just click in on any of the features and you'll get details including the full cross-browser support.

This only works for some of them.

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#15

Post by joeyspn » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:20 PM UTC

Good as a quick reference for the cross-browser state of HTML5 in mobile devices, but highly misleading for building mobile apps with web technologies, because if you plan to build an APP for mobile, chances are you'll end using Crosswalk/Chromium.

https://crosswalk-project.org/

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#16

Post by Geee » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:21 PM UTC

ericjang wrote: post #3

what a time to be alive!

You can't be serious.

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#17

Post by sawwit » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:26 PM UTC

I've been imagining a website lately that displays progress in a similar way for all kinds of things. Sort of like a global to-do list. Should be fun to build.

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#18

Post by fiatjaf » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:27 PM UTC

Still, people think the web is going to die and native apps are going to rule.

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#19

Post by thrownaway2424 » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:31 PM UTC

One of the things the web can do, apparently, is animated transitions with very poor frame rates :-/

Re: What Web Can Do Today

#20

Post by mmahemoff » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 10:31 PM UTC

Sephr wrote: post #11

Why is the Network Information API still a thing? I don't feel like it should even be listed on this website, as it's an anti-feature. It only encourages discrimination on connection types, as it doesn't expose the only important part: is this connection metered? Developers are going to use this API to serve me higher resolution assets over my metered WiFi & Ethernet connections (assuming they are unmetered) and lowe…

How can a web browser or even native OS determine if a user's wifi network is metered? I agree it would be nice in theory if there was some kind of "dollars per MB" API, but I don't see how web browsers could implement that in practice.

I work on a podcast app. When people are downloading hundreds of MB or more daily, they emphatically want control over when downloading takes place. In practice, almost all of them are satisfied with a binary choice between cellular or not. Those who do sometimes use expensive or slow wifi networks can blacklist them, which is also what network info APIs support.

There are also other applications such as metering apps, utilities that trigger actions upon network changes. Some very popular Android apps (e.g. Tasker, IFTTT) rely on network info for that; web falls further behind if web apps can't access that data.