Since joining the esteemed group of editors maintaining the Web App Manifest spec for the W3C, I’ve been on the lookout for ways to enhance both web apps themselves—in terms of functionality—and how web apps are represented in app catalogs and digital storefronts. Some of that work is finally gaining traction and I’d love to get your input.
Dispatches From The Internets
Enhancing the Manifest
Going dark (mode)
While working on tooling to analyze Web App Manifest usage in relation to some new feature proposals, it became clear we needed a test Manifest that included the proposed syntax for dark/light mode support. I decided to make this site the guinea pig and spent an hour or so tweaking things to make it happen. Here’s a run-down of what I did:
Benchmarking JavaScript Memory Usage
Testing JavaScript memory usage is not done often enough, but it’s incredibly important. This is an awesome guide from Tim Kadlec.
Conditional JavaScript
This has some awesome advice on how to conditionally load JavaScript (a.k.a, progressively enhance) based on…
- device RAM
- device CPU
- available battery
- available storage, and
- network conditions
Bringing Chromium Edge PWAs (Progressive Web Apps) to the Microsoft Store
This is a very exciting announcement! > Both the Microsoft Edge and PWABuilder teams are extremely excited to share this Preview of new Edge PWAs in the Microsoft Store with developers today. We are eager to see developers leverage the full capabilities of the new Edge in their PWAs and ship awesome experiences to the Microsoft Store!
Dynamic shortcuts questions
You may or may not be aware, but the Shortcuts feature for PWAs has begun rolling out in Chromium-based browsers and implementation is underway in other browsers as well. The first version of Shortcuts provides you with the ability to define a small set of links in your Manifest. Rayan Kanso and I are currently working on a proposal for Shortcuts v2 which will introduce a JavaScript API for managing these links and we’d love your input too.
Reefer 170, year 2
Facebook reminded me of a video I recorded of my reef tank a little over a year ago, so I thought I’d shoot another video, write a post about it, and share some of the interesting things that have changed over the last year.
Hammer and nails
Love this analogy from Stuart: Front-end frameworks are essentially compilers that you require your users to run on their own machines to access your project!
Old joke: someone walks into a cheap-looking hotel and asks for a room. You’ll have to make your own bed, says the receptionist. The visitor agrees, and is told: you’ll find a hammer and nails behind the door.
Web Sites as ‘Public Accommodation’ under a Pandemic
This is incredibly important:
As movie theaters, restaurant ordering, college courses, and more move to online-first delivery, the notion of a corresponding brick-and-mortar venue falls away. If the current pandemic physical distancing measures stretch into the next year as many think, then this blip becomes the de facto new normal.
What’s in a name?
This is a fan-friggin’—tastic deep dive into accessible names, why they matter, and how to define them. Consider it a must-read!