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diff --git a/examples/blog/articles/scrap1_35.html b/examples/blog/articles/scrap1_35.html deleted file mode 100644 index 05ad4741..00000000 --- a/examples/blog/articles/scrap1_35.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,258 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/loose.dtd"> -<html><!-- This is the second edition of Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman. - -Free Software Foundation - -51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor - -Boston, MA 02110-1335 -Copyright C 2002, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc. -Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire book are permitted -worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this notice is -preserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations -of this book from the original English into another language provided -the translation has been approved by the Free Software Foundation and -the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all -copies. - -ISBN 978-0-9831592-0-9 -Cover design by Rob Myers. - -Cover photograph by Peter Hinely. - --><!-- Created on February 18, 2016 by texi2html 1.82 -texi2html was written by: - Lionel Cons <Lionel.Cons@cern.ch> (original author) - Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> - Olaf Bachmann <obachman@mathematik.uni-kl.de> - and many others. -Maintained by: Many creative people. -Send bugs and suggestions to <texi2html-bug@nongnu.org> ---><head><title>Free Software, Free Society, 2nd ed.: 35. The JavaScript Trap</title><meta name="description" content="This is the second edition of Richard Stallman's collection of essays."><meta name="keywords" content="Free Software, Free Society, 2nd ed.: 35. The JavaScript Trap"><meta name="resource-type" content="document"><meta name="distribution" content="global"><meta name="Generator" content="texi2html 1.82"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><style type="text/css"> -<!-- -a.summary-letter {text-decoration: none} -blockquote.smallquotation {font-size: smaller} -pre.display {font-family: serif} -pre.format {font-family: serif} -pre.menu-comment {font-family: serif} -pre.menu-preformatted {font-family: serif} -pre.smalldisplay {font-family: serif; font-size: smaller} -pre.smallexample {font-size: smaller} -pre.smallformat {font-family: serif; font-size: smaller} -pre.smalllisp {font-size: smaller} -span.roman {font-family:serif; font-weight:normal;} -span.sansserif {font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:normal;} -ul.toc {list-style: none} ---> -</style><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../web-common/style.css"></head><body lang="en" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" vlink="#800080" alink="#FF0000" class="article"> - -<a name="JavaScript-Trap"></a> -<header><div id="logo"><a href="/"><img src="../gnu.svg" height="100" width="100"></a></div><h1 class="book-title">Free Software, Free Society, 2nd ed.</h1></header><section id="main"><a name="The-JavaScript-Trap"></a> -<h1 class="chapter"> 35. The JavaScript Trap </h1> - -<a name="index-JavaScript-2"></a> -<a name="index-traps_002c-JavaScript"></a> -<p>In the free software community, the idea that nonfree programs -mistreat their users is familiar. Some of us refuse entirely to -install proprietary software, and many others consider nonfreedom a -strike against the program. Many users are aware that this issue -applies to the plug-ins that browsers offer to install, since they can -be free or nonfree. -</p> -<p>But browsers run other nonfree programs which they don’t ask you -about or even tell you about—programs that web pages contain or -link to. These programs are most often written in JavaScript, though -other languages are also used. -</p> -<p>JavaScript (officially called -<a name="index-ECMAScript"></a> -ECMAScript, but few use that name) was -once used for minor frills in web pages, such as cute but inessential -navigation and display features. It was acceptable to consider these -as mere extensions of -<a name="index-HTML-1"></a> -HTML markup, rather than as true software; they -did not constitute a significant issue. -</p> -<p>Many sites still use JavaScript that way, but some use it for major -programs that do large jobs. For instance, -<a name="index-Google-Docs-1"></a> -Google Docs downloads into -your machine a JavaScript program which measures half a megabyte, in a -compacted form that we could call Obfuscript because it has no -comments and hardly any whitespace, and the method names are one -letter long. The source code of a program is the preferred form for -modifying it; the compacted code is not source code, and the real -source code of this program is not available to the user. -</p> -<p>Browsers don’t normally tell you when they load JavaScript programs. -Most browsers have a way to turn off JavaScript entirely, but none of -them can check for JavaScript programs that are nontrivial and -nonfree. Even if you’re aware of this issue, it would take you -considerable trouble to identify and then block those programs. -However, even in the free software community most users are not aware -of this issue; the browsers’ silence tends to conceal it. -</p> -<p>It is possible to release a JavaScript program as free software, by -distributing the source code under a free software license. But even -if the program’s source is available, there is no easy way to run your -modified version instead of the original. Current free browsers do -not offer a facility to run your own modified version instead of the -one delivered in the page. The effect is comparable to -<a name="index-tivoization-4"></a> -tivoization, -although not quite so hard to overcome. -</p> -<p>JavaScript is not the only language web sites use for programs sent to -the user. -<a name="index-Flash"></a> -Flash supports programming through an extended variant of -JavaScript. We will need to study the issue of Flash to make suitable -recommendations. Silverlight seems likely to create a problem similar -to Flash, except worse, since Microsoft uses it as a platform for -nonfree codecs. A free replacement for -<a name="index-Silverlight-_0028see-also-Microsoft_0029"></a> -Silverlight does not do the job -for the free world unless it normally comes with free replacement codecs. -</p> -<a name="index-Java-3"></a> -<p>Java applets also run in the browser, and raise similar issues. In -general, any sort of applet system poses this sort of problem. Having -a free execution environment for an applet only brings us far enough -to encounter the problem. -</p> -<p>A strong movement has developed that calls for web sites to -communicate only through formats and protocols that are free (some say -“open”); that is to say, whose documentation is published and which -anyone is free to implement. With the presence of programs in web -pages, that criterion is necessary, but not sufficient. JavaScript -itself, as a format, is free, and use of JavaScript in a web site is -not necessarily bad. However, as we’ve seen above, it also isn’t -necessarily OK. When the site transmits a program to the user, it is -not enough for the program to be written in a documented and -unencumbered language; that program must be free, too. “Only free -programs transmitted to the user” must become part of the criterion -for proper behavior by web sites. -</p> -<p>Silently loading and running nonfree programs is one among several -issues raised by “web applications.” The term “web -application” was designed to disregard the fundamental -distinction between software delivered to users and software running -on the server. It can refer to a specialized client program running -in a browser; it can refer to specialized server software; it can -refer to a specialized client program that works hand in hand with -specialized server software. The client and server sides raise -different ethical issues, even if they are so closely integrated that -they arguably form parts of a single program. This article addresses -only the issue of the client-side software. We are addressing the -server issue separately. -</p> -<p>In practical terms, how can we deal with the problem of nonfree -JavaScript programs in web sites? Here’s a plan of action. -</p> -<p>First, we need a practical criterion for nontrivial JavaScript -programs. Since “nontrivial” is a matter of degree, this is -a matter of designing a simple criterion that gives good results, -rather than determining the one correct answer. -</p> -<p>Our proposal is to consider a JavaScript program nontrivial if it -makes an -<a name="index-AJAX-request"></a> -AJAX request, and consider it nontrivial if it defines -methods and either loads an external script or is loaded as one. -</p> -<p>At the end of this article we propose a convention by which a -nontrivial JavaScript program in a web page can state the URL where -its source code is located, and can state its license too, using -stylized comments. -</p> -<p>Finally, we need to change free browsers to support freedom for -users of pages with JavaScript. First of all, browsers should be able -to tell the user about nontrivial nonfree JavaScript programs, rather -than running them. Perhaps -<a name="index-NoScript"></a> -NoScript could be adapted to do this. -</p> -<p>Browser users also need a convenient facility to specify JavaScript -code to use <em>instead</em> of the JavaScript in a certain page. -(The specified code might be total replacement, or a modified version -of the free JavaScript program in that page.) -<a name="index-Greasemonkey"></a> -Greasemonkey comes close -to being able to do this, but not quite, since it doesn’t guarantee to -modify the JavaScript code in a page before that program starts to -execute. Using a local proxy works, but is too inconvenient now to be -a real solution. We need to construct a solution that is reliable and -convenient, as well as sites for sharing changes. The GNU Project -would like to recommend sites which are dedicated to free changes -only. -</p> -<p>These features will make it possible for a JavaScript program included -in a web page to be free in a real and practical sense. JavaScript -will no longer be a particular obstacle to our freedom—no more than -C and -<a name="index-Java-4"></a> -Java are now. We will be able to reject and even replace the nonfree -nontrivial JavaScript programs, just as we reject and replace nonfree -packages that are offered for installation in the usual way. Our -campaign for web sites to free their JavaScript can then -begin. -</p> -<p>Thank you to -<a name="index-Lee_002c-Matt"></a> -Matt Lee and -<a name="index-Resig_002c-John"></a> -John Resig for their help in defining our -proposed criterion, and to -<a name="index-Parunakian_002c-David"></a> -David Parunakian and -<a name="index-Rumith_002c-Jaffar"></a> -Jaffar Rumith for -bringing this issue to my attention. -</p> -<a name="Appendix_003a-A-Convention-for-Releasing-Free-JavaScript-Programs"></a> -<h3 class="subheading"> Appendix: A Convention for Releasing Free JavaScript Programs </h3> -<a name="index-GPL_002c-releasing-JavaScript-programs-under"></a> - -<p>For references to corresponding source code, we recommend -</p> -<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="smallexample"> - // @source: - -</pre></td></tr></table><p>followed by the URL. -</p> -<p>To indicate the license of the JavaScript code embedded in a page, we -recommend putting the license notice between two notes of this form: -</p> -<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="smallexample"> - @licstart The following is the entire license notice for the - JavaScript code in this page. - ... - @licend The above is the entire license notice - for the JavaScript code in this page. - -</pre></td></tr></table><p>Of course, all of this should be contained in a multiline comment. -</p> -<p>The GNU GPL, like many other free software licenses, requires distribution of a copy of the license with both source and binary forms of the program. However, the GNU GPL is long enough that including it in a page with a JavaScript program can be inconvenient. You can remove that requirement, for code that you have the copyright on, with a license notice like this: -</p> -<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="smallexample"> - Copyright (C) YYYY Developer - - The JavaScript code in this page is free software: you can - redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU - General Public License (GNU GPL) as published by the Free Software - Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) - any later version. The code is distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; - without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS - FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU GPL for more details. - - As additional permission under GNU GPL version 3 section 7, you - may distribute non-source (e.g., minimized or compacted) forms of - that code without the copy of the GNU GPL normally required by - section 4, provided you include this license notice and a URL - through which recipients can access the Corresponding Source. - -</pre></td></tr></table><a name="index-GPL_002c-releasing-JavaScript-programs-under-1"></a> -<a name="index-JavaScript-3"></a> -<a name="index-traps_002c-JavaScript-1"></a> - -<hr size="2"></section></body></html> |