WebHID API available in workers #36060

chrisdavidmills · 2024-09-26T10:53:19Z

Description

The WebHID API is now available in web workers in Chrome 131. See this spec thread, the landing commit message, and the associated ChromeStatus entry.

This PR:

Adds the API to the list of APIs available in workers
Adds the available in workers banner to the relevant pages
Adds a short ref page for the WorkerNavigator.hid property.

Motivation

Additional details

Related issues and pull requests

github-actions · 2024-09-26T10:54:38Z

Preview URLs (29 pages)

Flaws (1)

Note! 28 documents with no flaws that don't need to be listed. 🎉

URL: /en-US/docs/Web/API/WorkerNavigator/hid
Title: WorkerNavigator: hid property
Flaw count: 1

bad_bcd_queries:
- No BCD data for query: api.WorkerNavigator.hid

(comment last updated: 2024-10-02 16:21:58)

beaufortfrancois · 2024-09-26T12:16:11Z

files/en-us/web/api/hid/requestdevice/index.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ status:
 browser-compat: api.HID.requestDevice
 ---

-{{securecontext_header}}{{APIRef("WebHID API")}}{{SeeCompatTable}}
+{{securecontext_header}}{{APIRef("WebHID API")}}{{SeeCompatTable}}{{AvailableInWorkers}}


requestDevice() is not available in workers as it triggers a visible user prompt

OK, I've removed it from this page in the next commit.

beaufortfrancois · 2024-09-26T12:18:20Z

files/en-us/web/api/workernavigator/index.md

@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ _The `WorkerNavigator` interface doesn't inherit any property._
  - : Returns the {{domxref("GPU")}} object for the current worker context. The entry point for the {{domxref("WebGPU_API", "WebGPU API", "", "nocode")}}.
 - {{DOMxRef("WorkerNavigator.hardwareConcurrency")}} {{ReadOnlyInline}}
  - : Returns the number of logical processor cores available.
+- {{domxref("WorkerNavigator.hid")}} {{ReadOnlyInline}} {{Experimental_Inline}} {{SecureContext_Inline}}
+  - : Returns an {{domxref("HID")}} object providing methods for connecting to HID devices, listing attached HID devices, and event handlers for connected HID devices.


connecting to HID devices that were already granted by user.

Added; I also changed the sentence a bit to improve the grammar generally. I ended up with:

Returns an {{domxref("HID")}} object providing methods for connecting to HID devices already granted permission by the user and listing attached HID devices, and event handlers for responding to HID devices connecting and disconnecting.

I thought this was still a bit difficult structurally, and looked into it a bit, and had questions.

It looks to me like HID does not provide a method "for connecting to HID devices", it only provides methods for listing devices and (in the window version only) requesting permission: https://wicg.github.io/webhid/#hid-interface.

It looks like the caveat ("already granted permission by the user") applies to listing devices, and does so for both the window and worker versions of the hid property, but the window version doesn't mention it (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Navigator/hid).

So perhaps here we could say something like:

Returns an {{domxref("HID")}} object, which enables a website to list HID devices to which the user has granted access, and be notified when the user agent connects to or disconnects from a HID device.

and in the window version:

Returns an {{domxref("HID")}} object, which enables a website to list HID devices to which the user has granted access, request access to a HID device, and be notified when the user agent connects to or disconnects from a HID device.

?

Also, is it pronounced "hid", like "a HID" or "aych eye dee", like "an HID"? The docs are inconsistent here. FWIW I would expect the former, and the spec seems to agree.

(aside, the redundancy in "HID device" aka "Human Interface Device device", is absolute nails on a chalkboard for me, but I suspect that ship has sailed.)

Note that it's not "just" listing HID devices as web developer can connect to them once they get a HIDDevice. Maybe "communicating with HID devices user has granted access to previously". See https://developer.chrome.com/docs/capabilities/hid#open

I thought about this a bit, and ended up changing the text in both pages to:

...returns an {{domxref("HID")}} object providing methods for accessing HID device connections and events that fire when the user agent connects to or disconnects from a device.

I think saying it more generally like this does away with the need to nitpick about exactly what the methods are doing, and makes for a cleaner, easier-to-read sentence.

I have also checked the HID object and method pages and tweaked their wording slightly to make sure it is clear that getDevices()returns a list of connected devices that the user previous granted access to.

beaufortfrancois · 2024-09-26T12:18:31Z

files/en-us/web/api/workernavigator/hid/index.md

+
+The **`WorkerNavigator.hid`**
+read-only property returns an {{domxref("HID")}} object providing methods
+for connecting to HID devices, listing attached HID devices, and event


connecting to HID devices that were already granted by user.

same as above.

wbamberg · 2024-09-26T16:40:48Z

The IDL indicates that it's only in DedicatedWorker and ServiceWorker. The banner macro has some ability to indicate this kind of nuance, unfortunately it doesn't support this particular combination 😭 .

This comment indicates that shared worker support is not coming yet? So I think it would be worth updating the macro to support this combination, and using it in these pages.

skyclouds2001 · 2024-09-29T18:00:51Z

The IDL indicates that it's only in DedicatedWorker and ServiceWorker. The banner macro has some ability to indicate this kind of nuance, unfortunately it doesn't support this particular combination 😭 .

This comment indicates that shared worker support is not coming yet? So I think it would be worth updating the macro to support this combination, and using it in these pages.

Currently there supports 8 cases:

'window_and_dedicated': only in DedicatedWorker (and in Window)
'dedicated': only in DedicatedWorker
'window_and_worker_except_service': all workers but ServiceWorker (and in Window)
'worker_except_service': all workers but ServiceWorker (and no window)
'window_and_service': only in ServiceWorker (and in Window)
'service': only in ServiceWorker
'worker': All workers (and no Window)
null: (default) All workers (and in Window)

I guess we could add the following all 6 (8 - 2) cases, or just the needed one?

The following 6 (8 - 2) cases are:

window+shared
shared
window+shared+service
shared+service
window+dedicated+service
dedicated+service
window only (omit from this)
none (omit from this)

skyclouds2001 · 2024-09-29T18:07:22Z

Or maybe extend a new {{Available}} macros in replace of {{AvailableInWorkers}} in the future, to represent the available scope of a feature, as there are many worklet scope has implemented or will implement, which may also need to express, too.

chrisdavidmills · 2024-10-01T10:31:34Z

The IDL indicates that it's only in DedicatedWorker and ServiceWorker. The banner macro has some ability to indicate this kind of nuance, unfortunately it doesn't support this particular combination 😭 .

This comment indicates that shared worker support is not coming yet? So I think it would be worth updating the macro to support this combination, and using it in these pages.

@wbamberg good call Will. I have opened mdn/yari#11888 to add a new argument for the macro to support this particular case. You can now use {{AvailableInWorkers("window_and_worker_except_shared")}} to display:

I don't want to go and overboard and add cases for all web worker combinations. Seems like overkill for my requirements here.

wbamberg · 2024-10-01T17:45:56Z

The IDL indicates that it's only in DedicatedWorker and ServiceWorker. The banner macro has some ability to indicate this kind of nuance, unfortunately it doesn't support this particular combination 😭 .
This comment indicates that shared worker support is not coming yet? So I think it would be worth updating the macro to support this combination, and using it in these pages.

@wbamberg good call Will. I have opened mdn/yari#11888 to add a new argument for the macro to support this particular case. You can now use {{AvailableInWorkers("window_and_worker_except_shared")}} to display:

Thank you Chris! Do you know if this has percolated to production yet? I suppose we can't really merge this PR until then.

I don't want to go and overboard and add cases for all web worker combinations. Seems like overkill for my requirements here.

Yeah, I agree that it's enough just to patch this case. The proper solution would be to derive "available in" from the IDL, via webref.

chrisdavidmills · 2024-10-02T07:57:50Z

Thank you Chris! Do you know if this has percolated to production yet? I suppose we can't really merge this PR until then.

I was told it should have been deployed last night, but I tested it this morning and it is not there yet. It should be there by the time we get this one merged.

caugner · 2024-10-02T15:26:34Z

I was told it should have been deployed last night, but I tested it this morning and it is not there yet. It should be there by the time we get this one merged.

Resolved via #36163.

wbamberg

👍 from me. Do you want to wait until mdn/browser-compat-data#24538 is out before merging this?

chrisdavidmills · 2024-10-03T09:27:19Z

👍 from me. Do you want to wait until mdn/browser-compat-data#24538 is out before merging this?

I think so, because the BCD explains that it is actually only SWs in webextensions that Chrome has WebHID enabled for.

pepelsbey

Looks good! Thank you :)

pepelsbey · 2024-10-17T16:08:48Z

Given that mdn/browser-compat-data#24538 is merged, I’m going to merge this one, too.

WebHID API available in workers

138f118

chrisdavidmills requested review from a team as code owners September 26, 2024 10:53

chrisdavidmills requested review from wbamberg and pepelsbey and removed request for a team September 26, 2024 10:53

github-actions bot added Content:WebAPI Web API docs size/m [PR only] 51-500 LoC changed labels Sep 26, 2024

chrisdavidmills mentioned this pull request Sep 26, 2024

Expose WebHID to Web Workers WICG/webhid#120

Open

beaufortfrancois reviewed Sep 26, 2024

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Fixes for beaufortfrancois review comments

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chrisdavidmills mentioned this pull request Oct 1, 2024

chore(macros): add "except shared" condition to AvailableinWorkers mdn/yari#11888

Merged

chrisdavidmills and others added 2 commits October 1, 2024 11:43

Update AvailableInWorkers macro calls to use new argument

ce14308

Merge branch 'main' into hid-in-workers

fc7b321

skyclouds2001 mentioned this pull request Oct 1, 2024

chore(macros/AvailableInWorkers): add zh-CN translations mdn/yari#11894

Merged

Tweak wording based on wbamberg feedback

e3a94af

Merge branch 'main' into hid-in-workers

172bdef

wbamberg approved these changes Oct 2, 2024

View reviewed changes

skyclouds2001 mentioned this pull request Oct 3, 2024

chore(macros/AvailableinWorkers): add last 5 possible cases mdn/yari#11907

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pepelsbey approved these changes Oct 17, 2024

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pepelsbey merged commit 534e2c6 into mdn:main Oct 17, 2024
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WebHID API available in workers #36060

WebHID API available in workers #36060

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WebHID API available in workers #36060

WebHID API available in workers #36060

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