Only microtasks, but still postMessage()?

[annevk]

It seems some worklets want a postMessage() API, but how does that work without tasks? I couldn't find a definition anywhere.

[jyasskin]

Specifically, https://github.com/WebAudio/web-audio-api/wiki/AudioWorklet-IDL-Proposal#user-content-audioworkletnode vs https://drafts.css-houdini.org/worklets/#the-event-loop

[tabatkins]

Worklets definitely aren't getting postMessage. Some sort of signaling back to the main thread is needed by some worklets, but we've yet to work out the details.

(This was discussed at TPAC - AudioWorklet eventually needs this comm mechanism, but doesn't desperately need it right now; some people were worried about Process, tho, and wanted to shoehorn something in early.)

[bfgeek]

So I'll close this for now, the webaudio folks have moved away from a postMessage api and all of the baggage that contains for a far more constrained sendData method, and ondata callback which just works on structured cloning the given data. ondata works the same as other worklet callbacks and called right before the process callback is invoked. (rather than triggered by the event loop).

[bfgeek]

/cc @hoch FYI

[annevk]

ondata is an event or a callback? That would have to be a microtask somehow per the not super precise description of worklets event loop?

[annevk]

I looked at https://webaudio.github.io/web-audio-api/ btw and sendData() is far from defined. There's no processing algorithm whatsoever.

[annevk]

(I also found WebAudio/web-audio-api#1193.)

[bfgeek]

Filed WebAudio/web-audio-api#1194 regarding it being currently a EventHandler when it should just be a callback which is invoked by the UA.

[hoch]

Thanks for pointing them out. Those were the last bit of loose ends in the AudioWorklet spec. I posted follow up questions on the issue.