Avoid suggesting the empty string for navigator.platform
#7762
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`navigator.platform` was permitted to return the empty string due to a privacy-motivated spec change: https://searchfox.org/whatwg-html/diff/ecefa6e105592656bf592e0abcf0276dad971fbc/source#31141 Since 2008, the understanding of changing things like this for privacy has evolved from returning special privacy values to returning a value that is already commonly returned for non-privacy reasons. Therefore, change the spec not to say "the empty string" but to permit returning a string commonly returned on another platform. Additionally, change the examples to be from the set of values given at https://www.chromium.org/updates/ua-reduction/ to avoid suggesting more identifying and potentially less compatible values, but, for now, avoid actually constraining the permitted values to a reduced set.
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I expect this API eventually to be specced to return one of 5 values, but I think it would be premature to spec this API that way before seeing experience from shipping a reduced set of possible values. |
domenic
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Mar 30, 2022
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Nice change, thank you. I think the most relevant issue to the eventual narrowing is whatwg/compat#174.
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Given the spec change at whatwg/html#7762 we no longer have justification for marking navigator.platform as deprecated. Related MDN change: mdn/content#14452
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Fixes #14429. For the navigator.platform article, this change does the following: - Drop the Deprecated_Header macro. - Add admonishments that navigator.platform should be avoided in favor of feature detection. - Relegate mention of (equally-bad) navigator.userAgentData.platform to just being a "See also". - Add an example of the single known good case where using navigator.platform isn’t completely bad. Related BCD change: mdn/browser-compat-data#15599 Related spec change: whatwg/html#7762
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Fixes #14429. For the navigator.platform article, this change does the following: - Drop the Deprecated_Header macro. - Add admonishments that navigator.platform should be avoided in favor of feature detection. - Relegate mention of (equally-bad) navigator.userAgentData.platform to just being a "See also". - Add an example of the single known good case where using navigator.platform isn’t completely bad. Related BCD change: mdn/browser-compat-data#15599 Related spec change: whatwg/html#7762
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…vigator.platform doc and adjust navigator.userAgentData.platform note wording) (#14452) * Adjust wording of note about navigator.userAgentData.platform - Don’t say that navigator.userAgentData.platform is “recommended”; it’s sufficient to just point out that it exists as an alternative. - Since it’s so far only in Blink, say “not yet supported by **most** browsers” rather than “not yet supported by some major browsers. See #14429 * Replace Deprecated_Header in navigator.platform doc For the navigator.platform article, this change replaces the Deprecated_Header macro and its boilerplate text with some more-appropriate alternative pseudo-boilerplate text. See #14429 * Update files/en-us/web/api/navigator/platform/index.md Co-authored-by: wbamberg <[email protected]> * Drop “yet” in text about navigator.userAgentData.platform not being supported/adopted * Un-deprecate navigator.platform; improve advice and example Fixes #14429. For the navigator.platform article, this change does the following: - Drop the Deprecated_Header macro. - Add admonishments that navigator.platform should be avoided in favor of feature detection. - Relegate mention of (equally-bad) navigator.userAgentData.platform to just being a "See also". - Add an example of the single known good case where using navigator.platform isn’t completely bad. Related BCD change: mdn/browser-compat-data#15599 Related spec change: whatwg/html#7762 * Refine explanation of matching on navigator.platform value * Fix markdown formatting of example navigator.platform values * Grammar fix * Update files/en-us/web/api/navigator/platform/index.md Co-authored-by: Jean-Yves Perrier <[email protected]> Co-authored-by: wbamberg <[email protected]> Co-authored-by: Jean-Yves Perrier <[email protected]>
This was referenced Oct 25, 2023
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navigator.platformwas permitted to return the empty string due toa privacy-motivated spec change:
https://searchfox.org/whatwg-html/diff/ecefa6e105592656bf592e0abcf0276dad971fbc/source#31141
Since 2008, the understanding of changing things like this
for privacy has evolved from returning special privacy values
to returning a value that is already commonly returned for
non-privacy reasons. Therefore, change the spec not to say
"the empty string" but to permit returning a string commonly
returned on another platform.
Additionally, change the examples to be from the set of values
given at https://www.chromium.org/updates/ua-reduction/ to
avoid suggesting more identifying and potentially less
compatible values, but, for now, avoid actually constraining
the permitted values to a reduced set.
I believe this change counts as editorial for Work Mode purposes even though it is suggestive of slightly more substantive direction.
/system-state.html ( diff )