khronos_api 3.1.0

The Khronos XML API Registry, exposed as byte string constants.
Documentation 
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<?xml version="1.0"?>

<ratified href="WEBGL_debug_renderer_info/">
  <name>WEBGL_debug_renderer_info</name>
  <contact><a href="mailto:zmo@chromium.org">zmo@chromium.org</a></contact>
  <contributors>
    <contributor>Members of the <a href="https://www.khronos.org/webgl/public-mailing-list/">WebGL working group</a></contributor>
  </contributors>
  <number>6</number>
  <depends>
    <api version="1.0"/>
  </depends>
  <overview>
    <p>WebGL implementations might mask the <code>RENDERER</code> and <code>VENDOR</code> strings of the underlying graphics driver for privacy reasons. This extension exposes new tokens to query this information in a guaranteed manner for debugging purposes.</p>
  </overview>
  <idl xml:space="preserve">
[NoInterfaceObject]
interface WEBGL_debug_renderer_info {

      const GLenum UNMASKED_VENDOR_WEBGL            = 0x9245;
      const GLenum UNMASKED_RENDERER_WEBGL          = 0x9246;

};
  </idl>
  <newtok>
    <function name="getParameter" type="any">
      <param name="pname" type="GLenum"/>
      Two new enums <code>UNMASKED_VENDOR_WEBGL</code> and <code>UNMASKED_RENDERER_WEBGL</code> are accepted by <code>pname</code> parameter in <code>getParameter()</code>.
      <table class="foo">
        <tr><th>pname</th><th>returned type</th></tr>
        <tr><td>UNMASKED_VENDOR_WEBGL</td><td>DOMString</td></tr>
        <tr><td>UNMASKED_RENDERER_WEBGL</td><td>DOMString</td></tr>
      </table>
      <br />
      The following pname arguments return a string describing some aspect of the underlying graphics driver.
      <table class="foo">
        <tr><td>UNMASKED_VENDOR_WEBGL</td><td>Return the VENDOR string of the underlying graphics driver.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>UNMASKED_RENDERER_WEBGL</td><td>Return the RENDERER string of the underlying graphics driver.</td></tr>
      </table>
    </function>
  </newtok>
  <issues>
    <p>
      1) What enum values should be used for UNMASKED_VENDOR_WEBGL and UNMASKED_RENDERER_WEBGL?</p>
      <ul>
        <li> RESOLVED: The first draft used temporary enum values. They have been replaced with enums allocated from the WEBGL range of GL enums.</li>
      </ul>
    <p>
      2) Should this extension be made available on ordinary web pages?</p>
      <ul>
        <li> Earlier versions of this extension noted the following concerns:
        <ol>
          <li> Identifying the precise graphics card in the user's computer may yield certain personally-identifiable information to the web page; for example, if the user has a unique graphics card. </li>
          <li> Identifying the precise graphics card to JavaScript might encourage developers to target their WebGL applications to run only on a particular type of graphics card. This is similar to the User-Agent "sniffing" or "spoofing" problem which has historically been pervasive and problematic on the web. </li>
        </ol>

        User agents (web browsers) should carefully consider whether or not to expose this extension in non-privileged settings due to these concerns. </li>

        <li> On the other hand, benefits of exposing this information to general web pages include:

        <ol>
          <li> The WebGL application can tune its rendering techniques based on previously observed performance characteristics on the same graphics card. </li>
          <li> The WebGL application can gather useful information for debugging; for example, if it is running slowly, it can gather data for reproducing and fixing the problem. </li>
        </ol>

        </li>
      </ul>
  </issues>
  <history>
    <revision date="2011/10/03">
      <change>Initial revision.</change>
    </revision>
    <revision date="2011/10/12">
      <change>Assigned enums; assigned webgl extension number.</change>
    </revision>
    <revision date="2011/10/18">
      <change>Clarify the meaning of "privileged".</change>
    </revision>
    <revision date="2011/12/07">
      <change>Fixed mistake where extension still indicated draft status.</change>
    </revision>
    <revision date="2012/01/03">
      <change>Removed webgl module per changes to Web IDL spec.</change>
    </revision>
    <revision date="2013/05/15">
      <change>Ratified by Khronos Board of Promoters.</change>
    </revision>
    <revision date="2014/01/28">
      <change>Added issue on privacy and user agent sniffing considerations, replacing security section.</change>
    </revision>
    <revision date="2014/07/15">
      <change>Added NoInterfaceObject extended attribute.</change>
    </revision>
  </history>
</ratified>