`cancelAnimationFrame` is not worker-only API but is marked so

[saschanaz]

MDN URL

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope/cancelAnimationFrame

What specific section or headline is this issue about?

The top note

What information was incorrect, unhelpful, or incomplete?

Note: This feature is only available in Dedicated Web Workers.

This is not true, it's available on window too.

What did you expect to see?

Perhaps a link to the Window/cancelAnimationFrame?

Do you have any supporting links, references, or citations?

(See above)

Do you have anything more you want to share?

No response

MDN metadata

Page report details

• Folder: en-us/web/api/dedicatedworkerglobalscope/cancelanimationframe
• MDN URL: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope/cancelAnimationFrame
• GitHub URL: https://github.com/mdn/content/blob/main/files/en-us/web/api/dedicatedworkerglobalscope/cancelanimationframe/index.md
• Last commit: e6457c3
• Document last modified: 2024-04-22T08:48:14.000Z

I’d like to work on this

[Josh-Cena]

You are looking at DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope.cancelAnimationFrame(). DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope is a worker-only interface, so this fits the conventions—if an interface is only accessible in workers, then so are all of its properties. We already link to the Window version in see also.

[saschanaz]

Yes, except that's MDN specific notion. cancelAnimationFrame is part of AnimationFrameProvider that is included by global scopes, and never intended to be worker specific.

[Josh-Cena]

AnimationFrameProvider is a mixin that is implemented by Window and DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope only, so in effect it is only present on those two interfaces. We document the web as it's implemented, not as it's specified, and the testable reality is that the method called DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope.prototype.cancelAnimationFrame is only accessible in workers.

[saschanaz]

I think for global scope functions it should be different, because nobody does new DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope().cancelAnimationFrame nor it's possible to do so. It's always (window/self/this/globalThis.)cancelAnimationFrame.

[Josh-Cena]

In MDN, we've removed the concept of "globals" because there are really not many things that are truly "global". You may find a few things that have Exposed=* in Web IDL, but usually for each API there are only finitely many interfaces that it is exposed on, like Window + DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope. At the moment, we follow a strictly two-level classification: interface + members, so if an interface is worker-only, then so are its members.

[saschanaz]

because there are really not many things that are truly "global".

I don't follow this, what does "truly global" mean here? The rest of the paragraph doesn't really define it.

[Josh-Cena]

"Truly global" means even if a new global scope is added, this property is automatically available in that environment—a.k.a. it's available in every single environment on the web. console is the only API that I'm aware of.

[saschanaz]

I think that's a different notion of "global". Here the "global scope" means the top level scope, not "every single environment".