Advancing Focus
summary
Title claims the browser focus subsystem is outdated and proposes concrete fixes: expose focusManager with methods to move focus forward/back, a programmatic isFocusable predicate, trapping and ordered arrays, and history of previous active elements. Demonstration uses ZephJS for a web component, reuses David Clark’s tabbable for detection, and ships a working polyfill. Notes the API dates to January 1998 and spec change requires WICG/whatwg buy-in so native rollout is uncertain.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (8)
- 0:00Introduction to focus
- 1:34How focus works
- 4:41Limitations of current APIs
- 7:23The complexity of focusability
- 12:15Proposed improvements
- 14:57The standard process
- 16:57Advocating for change
- 21:04Call to action
related talks
25mStuck in a Focustrap: Mastering Keyboard Accessibility
39mManaging Focus for Accessible Digital Applications: From the Essential to the Unnecessary
37mIt's All About Focus - and Accessibility
23mAccessible navigation in single-page applications
37mGetting Focus Right on Apple Platforms
35mAccelerating accessibility in web
31m"Stop using JavaScript for that: moving features from JS to CSS and HTML"
35mWhat's new in Web UI