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A bug is an error in source code that causes a program to produce unexpected results or crash altogether, i.e. something that doesn't work, something broken; th

A bug is an error in source code that causes a program to produce unexpected results or crash altogether, i.e. something that doesn't work, something broken; the user initiates an action, the action fails or program crashes. That isn't what this is. This is the user intentionally opening multiple overlapping fullscreen videos. You can make a computer saturate its processor indefinitely with a while-loop, but doesn't make it a bug.

mmazzarolo 4y ago
I would still consider a missing safety check (like in this case, to check if there’s already a full screen video open) as a bug.
- Maursault 4y ago
  And I'd agree, except that this behavior is an advertised feature of the of the system, iow, if you open multiple fullscreen videos, you should expect to see what is seen as opposed to Safari crashing or the system crashing.
  - Thorrez 4y ago
    Where is it advertised?
    - Maursault 4y ago
      Back in 2010 with the release of iOS 4 and it's multitasking feature, and probably also in 2020 with iOS 14's Picture in Picture mode.
      - Thorrez 4y ago
        Hmm, is opening a fullscreen video considered opening a new application, or is it considered a single application (the browser) displaying different content? I thought it was the second case, so multitasking I don't think applies. Same for desktop chrome, when it shows a fullscreen video, that's not a new application, just the browser displaying content in a new way. For picture in picture mode, I don't think multiple fullscreen videos should be a valid configuration of picture in picture.
function_seven 4y ago
The user isn't the one intentionally opening these overlapping videos. The site they're visiting is making that request, and the browser is honoring it. This is a bug. These are unexpected results! And as the article notes, "sometimes this behavior makes Safari crash." So a website can make your browser crash by getting it to do something nonsensical (opening 30 overlapping full screen videos), without your forewarning that this could happen. You can quibble and say it's a "misfeature" or similar, but I'm not sure that means much.
- Maursault 4y ago
  > The user isn't the one intentionally opening these overlapping videos. Yes, he absolutely is, and the proof is > So here’s a tiny web page I created to play with it. What OP is reporting is more accurately described as a possible memory overflow exploit. The software appears to be operating as designed, but a malicious attacker might be able to exploit the behavior to do bad things, though this is not exactly necessarily true, and we won't know until we see it happen.
  - jaywalk 4y ago
    The person who created the web page is the user? I think you've got that backwards.
    - stonemetal12 4y ago
      He found a bug and made a proof of concept webpage to demonstrate it. So when he talks about it he is both the user and the author of the web page. In general You wouldn't expect them to be the same person.
  - function_seven 4y ago
    This is weird. Okay, so it may not be a software bug at all, but I'm gonna move these goalposts and insist this is a product design bug, or something. If this is intentional behavior, I don't understand the point. A full-screen video should be the only one playing IMO. Playing multiple (windowed) videos is one thing, but having 30 of them overlap full screen is quite another. And with no affordances to mass-terminate them, the result is unwanted behavior. So: not a bug in the "off-by-one" or "use-after-free" sense, but damn if it ain't a close cousin.

mmazzarolo 4y ago

I would still consider a missing safety check (like in this case, to check if there’s already a full screen video open) as a bug.

Maursault 4y ago
And I'd agree, except that this behavior is an advertised feature of the of the system, iow, if you open multiple fullscreen videos, you should expect to see what is seen as opposed to Safari crashing or the system crashing.
- Thorrez 4y ago
  Where is it advertised?
  - Maursault 4y ago
    Back in 2010 with the release of iOS 4 and it's multitasking feature, and probably also in 2020 with iOS 14's Picture in Picture mode.
    - Thorrez 4y ago
      Hmm, is opening a fullscreen video considered opening a new application, or is it considered a single application (the browser) displaying different content? I thought it was the second case, so multitasking I don't think applies. Same for desktop chrome, when it shows a fullscreen video, that's not a new application, just the browser displaying content in a new way. For picture in picture mode, I don't think multiple fullscreen videos should be a valid configuration of picture in picture.

function_seven 4y ago

The user isn't the one intentionally opening these overlapping videos. The site they're visiting is making that request, and the browser is honoring it. This is a bug. These are unexpected results! And as the article notes, "sometimes this behavior makes Safari crash." So a website can make your browser crash by getting it to do something nonsensical (opening 30 overlapping full screen videos), without your forewarning that this could happen. You can quibble and say it's a "misfeature" or similar, but I'm not sure that means much.

Maursault 4y ago
> The user isn't the one intentionally opening these overlapping videos. Yes, he absolutely is, and the proof is > So here’s a tiny web page I created to play with it. What OP is reporting is more accurately described as a possible memory overflow exploit. The software appears to be operating as designed, but a malicious attacker might be able to exploit the behavior to do bad things, though this is not exactly necessarily true, and we won't know until we see it happen.
- jaywalk 4y ago
  The person who created the web page is the user? I think you've got that backwards.
  - stonemetal12 4y ago
    He found a bug and made a proof of concept webpage to demonstrate it. So when he talks about it he is both the user and the author of the web page. In general You wouldn't expect them to be the same person.
- function_seven 4y ago
  This is weird. Okay, so it may not be a software bug at all, but I'm gonna move these goalposts and insist this is a product design bug, or something. If this is intentional behavior, I don't understand the point. A full-screen video should be the only one playing IMO. Playing multiple (windowed) videos is one thing, but having 30 of them overlap full screen is quite another. And with no affordances to mass-terminate them, the result is unwanted behavior. So: not a bug in the "off-by-one" or "use-after-free" sense, but damn if it ain't a close cousin.