Camera control in HTML 5

[jp roberts]

Do you think javascript or html5 will ever some how be able to access the iphone ios for the lower level stuff like camera control?

[Larry Aronson]

Yes. It is in the interests of Apple, Google and other smartphone makers to provide APIs to their device drivers so that others can write apps, however, I don't think that such features will be specifically incorporated into the HTML5 specs.

Let me rephrase and narrow your question with an example:

Is it possible to build a web page using HTML and JavaScript that, upon detecting that your browser is running on a device equipped with a camera, will enable the user to take a picture as an alternative to uploading an image file?

I don't know the answer to this question. I've not had a chance yet to explore writing smartphone apps in HTML and JS so I don't know the details of how Google Goggles, for example, controls the camera. Does anyone know what Goggles is written in?

This does bring up the distinctions between web pages and apps. An app uses all the technologies of a web site but packages it to run independently (no browser required) on a target device. Also, an app asks for permission to connect to your device's camera when you install it. Do we really want a web page to be able to snap a photo without first asking permission? Suppose that the camera is accessed not by code under the control of the site's webmaster but from code embedded in a ad served up by a third party service?

Smile and say "Cheese".

Larry