w3c / w3c/csswg-drafts

[cssom-view] Let offsetWidth / offsetHeight report actual size?

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cssom-view-1
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Description

<a href="#" id="a">
<div style="width: 40px; height: 40px; background-color: green;"></div>
</a>
<script>
document.write("This link has size: " + a.offsetWidth + "x" + a.offsetHeight + ".");
</script>

Firefox, Edge 42, IE 11: 40x40
Chrome, Safari: 0x0

According to current spec [1], I guess Chrome is correct. However, from a developer perspective, returning the actual size, as Firefox does, is way more useful and intuitive.

[1] Return the size of "the first CSS layout box associated with the element".

Is Firefox's behavior spec-able?

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the CSSOM View specification's definition of offsetWidth and offsetHeight, especially the rule about the first CSS layout box. Compare that wording with the Firefox, Edge, IE, Chrome, and Safari behavior shown in the issue, then determine whether the specification should change; done means reaching and documenting a standards decision.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
css
Domain
web-dev
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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