

[whatwg] Calcuating Referer for window.open()

From: Adam Barth <whatwg@adambarth.com>
Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 23:52:41 -0700
Message-ID: <7789133a0905262352i7172f042s458a85e63ebab5b4@mail.gmail.com>
I've been investigating the following question:

Suppose frame A calls a function defined by frame B, which calls the
open() method of frame C.  What URL is sent in the Referer header?

My testing shows the following:

Internet Explorer 8: No Referer sent
Firefox 3: A's URL
Safari 3.2: A's URL
Google Chrome 2: A's URL
Opera 9.52: C's URL

My reading of the HTML 5 spec (which is somewhat confusing on this
point) seems to indicate that B's URL will be sent.  Although I agree
that B's URL is the "morally" right URL to send, it appears that
browsers favor A's URL.

Received on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 23:52:41 UTC
