Content suggestion: javascript pseudo-protocol identifier

[jxu]

What is the new suggestion?

Document the javascript pseudo-protocol identifier javascript: which supposedly can be used anywhere a URL can to run javascript? Someone who has been doing web developer longer than I have can write about the history.

Why is it important or useful?

It is supposedly a pseudo-protocol, meaning it was/is supported on older browsers? The info that exists is scattered across old blogposts and stack overflow answers. Given the sheer number of duplicate stack overflow questions, it is not a rare topic.

Probably important for XSS.

Other supporting information

Answers are vague about history and browser support

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2321469/when-do-i-need-to-specify-the-javascript-protocol

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10068781/what-does-the-javascript-pseudo-protocol-actually-do?noredirect=1&lq=1

https://crisp.tweakblogs.net/blog/313/the-useless-javascript-pseudo-protocol.html from 2006

https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/ie/en-US/ac6bc491-e3d3-49eb-a010-8c36bd068016/javascript-pseudoprotocol-doesnt-work-why?forum=iewebdevelopment

[sideshowbarker]

We do have some guidance in the Never use this form of code for links: <a href="javascript:window.open(...)" ...> section of https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/open

As far as an actual specification, https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/browsing-the-web.html#javascript-protocol is where the browser requirements are defined.

[jxu]

I can attempt a draft but I barely know about the protocol so it would likely not be written very professionally