DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports Events Over 2 million developers have joined DZone. Join Today! Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile Manage Email Subscriptions Moderation Admin Console How to Post to DZone Article Submission Guidelines
View Profile
Sign Out
Refcards
Trend Reports
Events
Zones
Culture and Methodologies Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Partner Zones AWS Cloud
by AWS Developer Relations
Culture and Methodologies
Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering
AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture
Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding
Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Partner Zones
AWS Cloud
by AWS Developer Relations
The Latest "Software Integration: The Intersection of APIs, Microservices, and Cloud-Based Systems" Trend Report
Get the report
  1. DZone
  2. Coding
  3. Languages
  4. Are Vendor Prefixes Harmful?

Are Vendor Prefixes Harmful?

John Esposito user avatar by
John Esposito
·
Nov. 16, 11 · Interview
Like (0)
Save
Tweet
Share
3.40K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free

Standardization is good, but rigid standardization is bad: no standards body knows every use case, and browsermakers need to respond flexibly to user needs.

The result is the chicken-and-egg of adoption. But there are solutions.

One is the vendor prefixing system, first developed by the CSS working group. The idea is: while a standard is still developing, let vendors do their best to interpret the nascent standards as they presently stand -- but mark their own particular interpretation clearly with a prefix indicating the vendor.

As you may have guessed, the goal of vendor prefixes is a little more complex -- since the whole reason to create standards in the first place is to prevent browsers from talking totally different languages, or meaning completely different things by the same words.

But Henri Sivonen thinks vendor prefixes are a terrible idea. Many of his objections aren't new -- Peter-Paul Koch raised a number of similar objections over a year ago (see redux too) -- but Henri's post is more up-to-date, pre-emptively counters a number of possible objections, then responds to a number of counter-counter objections posted in the comments.

Here's Henri's own tl;dr summary:

TL;DR: I think vendor prefixes are hurting the Web. They are hurting Web authors. They are hurting users of browsers. They are hurting competition in the Web browser space. I think we (people developing browsers and Web standards) should stop hurting the Web. It would also make sense for browsers to implement other browsers’ prefixed features to the extent existing content uses prefixed features.


Henri's full explanation is definitely worth reading.

David Glazman, co-chairman of the CSS working group, responded quickly -- and while David isn't happy with the tone of the original post, he does agree with many of Henri's specific points (though often for slightly different reasons).

The vendor prefixes dispute does touch on some deep issues regarding web standardization, so hearing variant takes is quite intriguing -- even if you don't worry too much about vendor prefixes in your own coding.

 

CSS POST (HTTP) Extent (file systems) Dispute (credit card) Space (architecture) Coding (social sciences) Adoption

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Popular on DZone

  • Utilizing Database Hooks Like a Pro in Node.js
  • Securing Cloud-Native Applications: Tips and Tricks for Secure Modernization
  • What To Know Before Implementing IIoT
  • MongoDB Time Series Benchmark and Review

Comments

Partner Resources

X

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Send feedback
  • Careers
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 600 Park Offices Drive
  • Suite 300
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • support@dzone.com
  • +1 (919) 678-0300

Let's be friends: