4 ms·

Of course, but in the case of Wave wouldn't it be sufficient to render the content as static HTML and let the browser worry about the rest?

tsimionescu 6y ago
Sure, that would make for a decent PoC. It's all the work that will come later as you discover the browser is NOT doing a good job that will be the problem.
- anoncake 6y ago
  If a browser fails to render HTML it's fair to say that's its makers' responsibility.
  - llarsson 6y ago
    It may be different now, but it was not long ago that browsers would without remorse just let the printed page cut even images in half if a page break happened to be there. It seemed as if all they did was create an image of a length long enough to fit the printable content and just fed that to the printer. No smart layout at all. If things are different now, it certainly was not during the brief time Wave was around.
  - tsimionescu 6y ago
    Browsers don't normally work with paper-like pages, they work with essentially infinitely scrollable areas. So a browser layout engine is not in any way, shape or form optimized for laying out HTML + CSS in a printer friendly way, especially if you start having 'weird' requirements like A4 vs Letter, smart layout of tables across pages so that they are still readable etc. In fact, in general, a human being must actually lay these things out by hand for print if that is the desired medium.
    - anoncake 6y ago
      That doesn't matter. Layout is the job of the browser. If it sucks, it sucks. That is no reason for ugly hacks.
      - tsimionescu 6y ago
        Which is an excellent attitude for a short PoC, but unimaginable for a paid product. In the end, the user doesn't care. They want the printed page to be usable. If the browser makes it usable, excellent! If it doesn't, than the product is bad and an alternative must be found. Sure, Google, being in control of Chrome, could implement a browser-level page layout engine. Unfortunately, there is obviously no way to make a good general purpose layout engine, so that will never fly. Any site that wants to offer printing as a paid feautre must implement their own printable version, no question.
        deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
        anoncake 6y ago
        What was so special about Wave that a general purpose layout engine wouldn't be adequate?

tsimionescu 6y ago

Sure, that would make for a decent PoC. It's all the work that will come later as you discover the browser is NOT doing a good job that will be the problem.

anoncake 6y ago
If a browser fails to render HTML it's fair to say that's its makers' responsibility.
- llarsson 6y ago
  It may be different now, but it was not long ago that browsers would without remorse just let the printed page cut even images in half if a page break happened to be there. It seemed as if all they did was create an image of a length long enough to fit the printable content and just fed that to the printer. No smart layout at all. If things are different now, it certainly was not during the brief time Wave was around.
- tsimionescu 6y ago
  Browsers don't normally work with paper-like pages, they work with essentially infinitely scrollable areas. So a browser layout engine is not in any way, shape or form optimized for laying out HTML + CSS in a printer friendly way, especially if you start having 'weird' requirements like A4 vs Letter, smart layout of tables across pages so that they are still readable etc. In fact, in general, a human being must actually lay these things out by hand for print if that is the desired medium.
  - anoncake 6y ago
    That doesn't matter. Layout is the job of the browser. If it sucks, it sucks. That is no reason for ugly hacks.
    - tsimionescu 6y ago
      Which is an excellent attitude for a short PoC, but unimaginable for a paid product. In the end, the user doesn't care. They want the printed page to be usable. If the browser makes it usable, excellent! If it doesn't, than the product is bad and an alternative must be found. Sure, Google, being in control of Chrome, could implement a browser-level page layout engine. Unfortunately, there is obviously no way to make a good general purpose layout engine, so that will never fly. Any site that wants to offer printing as a paid feautre must implement their own printable version, no question.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - anoncake 6y ago
        What was so special about Wave that a general purpose layout engine wouldn't be adequate?