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And with the death of plugins, farewell to any chance of someone trying to get the browser to do something new and interesting without having to suck up to one
by Sanddancer 11y ago
And with the death of plugins, farewell to any chance of someone trying to get the browser to do something new and interesting without having to suck up to one of the big browser makers. Things like SVG started out as plugins, and the web, and the internet as a whole, would have been a lot worse off if we had to wait for years of bikeshedding by browser makers to implement new specifications. The web's a little less open today.
- klodolph 11y agoI'm not so sure. New image formats can be decoded in JavaScript, without the need even to install a plugin. That, to me, is much more compelling. Not only do you not have to wait for browser makers, you don't have to wait for users. That said, it has its limitations.
- Sanddancer 11y agoSVG does a lot more than just pictures. Yes, you can have javascript parse for simpler uses, but using some of the interactivity in the format would add more difficulty. Also, consider things like video formats or access to physical hardware on the computer. Plugins serve the task of experimentation much better than javascript can.