Hello.

I am Paul Kinlan.

A Developer Advocate for Chrome and the Open Web at Google.

I love the web. The web should allow anyone to access any experience that they need without the need for native install or content walled garden.

Github's Web Components

Paul Kinlan

While searching for a markdown editor on webcomponents.org to simplify blog posting, I discovered a useful collection of web components by Github. I was already familiar with their but was pleasantly surprised to find such a comprehensive and easy-to-use set of elements.

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Minifying a Custom Element that contains inline CSS and HTML

Paul Kinlan

I couldn't find an easier way, so I built it myself

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Airhorner Custom Element

Paul Kinlan

Possibly the world's best airhorn now as a custom element

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Defining web component interfaces

Paul Kinlan

Custom Elements need clear and parsable API documentation.

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Issue with css variables and button background styling

Paul Kinlan

This little doozey hit me, so I'm documenting incase anyone else has the same issue

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Creating a share button web component

Paul Kinlan

My adventures in creating resuable web components around sharing.

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How should we load web components?

Paul Kinlan

I'm exploring the best way to load web components, focusing on how to include styles and templates without creating uncontrolled blocking requests. I've experimented with using a single JavaScript file that encapsulates everything, including styles and a dynamically created template element. This approach avoids external requests but raises questions about extensibility and best practices. Should we revive HTML imports, embrace ES modules, or find a common model for handling templates and styles? Is inlining templates a reasonable solution? I'm looking for community input on how to balance performance and developer experience when deploying web components.

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Custom Elements: an ecosystem still being worked out

Paul Kinlan

Web Components, specifically Custom Elements, offer exciting possibilities for web development. However, the current ecosystem is still evolving and has potential downsides. The practice of namespacing custom elements (e.g., <amp-*>, <iron-*>) creates "walled gardens" that can lock developers into specific frameworks. While understandable in the early stages, this approach hinders interoperability and leads to duplicated functionality. Ideally, we should move towards a shared vocabulary of elements (like <aspect-image>) where developers choose the implementation, not the vendor-specific element name. This requires a standardized process for defining element names, interfaces, and functionality. Imagine a world where component creators define the contract (e.g., class ShareButton extends HTMLElement { ... }) and users choose their preferred implementation. This model puts developers in control and fosters a more open and interoperable web. Furthermore, meta platforms (like Facebook or WeChat) could play a role by intercepting customElements.define calls and replacing JavaScript elements with native implementations when possible. This approach requires careful consideration, but it could lead to a more streamlined and integrated user experience.

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The Headless Web

Paul Kinlan

Do we need a browser in the future?

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