[whatwg] Google Gears and HTML5

[Chris Prince]

> > Gears returns an error when you first try to setup an ambiguous
> > capture.
>
> How do you do that when an ambiguity is discovered during a manifest update?

We hadn't thought about the case where the ambiguity is caused by a
manifest's new contents.  Thanks for pointing that out.

> what's the use case for "remove"

Without it, once you put a given URL in the ResourceStore, it would be
served from there forever.  Also, remember that the ResourceStore
doesn't auto-update URL contents like the ManagedResourceStore does.

> what's the use case for ... "rename" and "copy"

Sometimes you want to return the contents of one real-world URL (like
http://example.com/) in response to a different URL request (like
http://example.com/?offline=1).  The "rename" and "copy" methods let
you do that.

There may be a better way to expose this.  As an example: Gears could
have functions to (1) return a handle to a page's contents, and (2)
let you bind a handle to any URL request you like.

> Also, what motivates the provision of multiple named stores
> with independent enable/disable control?

Allowing multiple named stores is a convenience for developers, just
like allowing multiple named databases.

I don't have a great answer for the independent enable/disable
control.  Maybe this is something that should be removed until there
is a stronger need for it.

> What about opening stores --- is that some sort of approximation to
> "logging in"? What does it actually do, given that "the URLs contained
> in a store are eligible for local serving without requiring the application
> to open the store"? When are stores closed?

The main reason for create + open is so you can tell if a store
already exists.  It's a bit like Win32 CreateFile + OpenFile in that
respect.

open + isPresent would be another option.  Or maybe just 'open', until
there is a strong need for isPresent.  The Database API doesn't have
isPresent, which is another argument for removing it for now.

As you guessed, there is no notion of a store being "closed".