W3C's "The System Information API"

W3C has published a first working draft out of their Device APIs and Policy Working Group and it is for sure worth to look into. Let's have a look at the abstract:

This specification defines an API to provide Web applications with access to various properties of the system which they are running on. Specifically, properties pertaining to the device hardware are addressed. Examples include battery status, current network bandwidth. Additionally, some of those properties offer access to the environment around the device, such as ambient brightness or atmospheric pressure.

Remember that's a first working draft which means it's still subject to changes. There's also a nice figure that gives a good overview which APIs one can anticipate in this standard.

In any case, I would appreciate if W3C could define the scope of this specification and what they actually mean by a "system". A proper definition thereof is somewhat missing at the moment but remember, it's a first working draft only...

Finally, defining APIs are now in vogue within SDOs as W3C is doing it for a while, MPEG has some APIs defined and will continue this path, and I wonder whether IETF is also about to join the API club.