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CDN Optimizing HTML On the Fly
Caerdwyn writes "Cotendo, which is a content distribution network, has taken to altering HTML as it passes through their CDN to optimize web pages for faster rendering. This is essentially a repackaging of the Apache mod mod_pagespeed (from Google), with the critical difference being that the rewriting of HTML occurs inline rather than at the web server. We all know that well-written HTML can result in much better rendering of whatever your content is; the questions are 'Will this automatic rewriting cause other problems, i.e. browser quirks?' and 'Assuming that only the web pages of Cotendo's customers are altered, are there nonetheless potential legal troubles with someone rewriting HTML before delivery to a browser?'"
https://code.google.com/speed/page-speed/docs/rules_intro.html
I think this link answers all your questions.
After a quick first glance, it seems like it isn't doing anything that a good web designer shouldn't have already have done. Then again, the percentage of well-designed pages out there mean this could still provide a speedup...
I must be new here...
'Assuming that only the web pages of Cotendo's customers are altered, are there nonetheless potential legal troubles with someone rewriting HTML before delivery to a browser?'"
Why should there be? They're not selling bandwidth. They're selling an optimization service (at least, according to their press release, that's what they're selling). This seems to be a clear opt-in situation for their customers. Also, their customers are the ones who are going to be saving money because of this, probably not Cotendo.
CDN customers are likely to be large customers, and large customers don't have Web developers per se, except maybe one or two to address hotspots.
The rest of the time they are using a CMS, and all of the major CMSs have some ... sub-optimal code.
This. Newspapers are notorious for crappy sites, implemented 10+ years ago on top of expensive proprietary tools based on the use of table elements and "liberal" abuse of SGML properties. Even the much-admired BBC site is kept together by a hodgepodge of 15-year-old code, which is known to inflict brain damage after webdevs are repeatedly exposed to it.
These are big CDN customers, and they will jump on any opportunity to optimize without rewriting their legacy systems.
It's inevitable in code written by volunteers around the world with no real central co-ordination and decision making, and it's much better than not having free-as-in-beer CMSs at all.
Bollocks. CMSes built by OSS communities in the last 10 years (e.g. Wordpress) are invariably much, MUCH better at generating html than 99% of proprietary solutions.
-- Let's go Viridian.