New browser controls and an API for using them

Hello,

This idea came up in another discussion
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-webapi/2005Nov/0045.html
and I thought I would start it's own thread.

For use with web applications, should there be new controls added to
web browsers tool bars, and a scripting API that allows web developers
to tie into them?

The advantages of this would be that common buttons and controls that
are normally expected in application, such as undo/cut/copy/paste,
could exist in web application as well. A developer could define these
in the application itself (as apposed to in the browser), but giving
them a home in the browser means they will be consistent and will be
where the user expects them to be. They can also have there own
browser defined key board short cuts adding to usability and
accessibility.

If this is a good idea it raises a lot of other questions: Should
there be a pre-defined set of controls, or should trusted web
developers be able to define there own? How should security be
handled? Should this be done with a API as a part of the window
object? Possibly an event model where there are onundo, oncut, onpaste
events the developer can catch? Or should this be part of the
"Specification of a declarative format for applications and user
interfaces" that the Web Application Formats Working Group is
chartered with?

Any thoughts or ideas on this?

Kenny

Received on Wednesday, 23 November 2005 16:39:49 UTC