Comments on: Better web font loading with JavaScript

By: sholto

sholto — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:50:21 +0000

Thankyou for providing such a lucid explanation of the various principles and issues involved.

By: Raymond Schwartz (@skeeter)

Raymond Schwartz (@skeeter) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:38:02 +0000

Should the cache identifier (ZZZZZZZ) used in the querystring of the CSS URL be moved out of the querystring and into the file name? If there is a querysting in a static resource, it’s possible that resource is never cached. Having ZZZZZZZ in the filename would still force a re-download but also allow for caching.

See these references:
“According the letter of the HTTP caching specification, user agents should never cache URLs with query strings” – http://carsonified.com/page/147/?cat=6
“Don’t include a query string in the URL for static resources.” – http://code.google.com/speed/page-speed/docs/caching.html
“These query params that cache bust are removed because the filename is revised each time you publish a new version.” – https://github.com/paulirish/html5-boilerplate/wiki/Version-Control-with-Cachebusting

By: 8 Gram Gorilla

8 Gram Gorilla — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:27:18 +0000

I think the JavaScript solution that TypeKit uses is great. It’s incredibly easy and intuitive to use, especially for front end developers. The only downside is that it depends on visits having JavaScript enabled in their browser but then I can’t imagine anyone using the web without it enabled these days.