468605 - Multiple windows can have the same name

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(Core :: DOM: Core & HTML, defect, P5)

Description

[Richard Wiseman]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.9.0.4) Gecko/2008102920 Firefox/3.0.4
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.9.0.4) Gecko/2008102920 Firefox/3.0.4

I was under the impression that a window's name should be unique, and that using window.open(...) with the name of an existing window will reuse that window.  If that's not the case then this bug should be ignored!

I have noticed that if I visit a page on one host (e.g. localhost) that opens a window with a particular name, then visit (in the same window - this bit appears to be important) the same page but using an equivalent host (e.g. 127.0.0.l), the same window gets reused because the window has the same name.  This is exactly what I would expect to happen and what I believe is correct.  (Also, since from a security point of view localhost is as different to 127.0.0.1 as it is from www.google.com, I assume any window with a particular name will be reused regardless of the host that opened it originally.)

However, if I open the page on both hosts at the same time but in different windows/tabs, each opens its own copy of the named window, and each opened window has the same name.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Visit a website that opens a window with a particular name.
2. In a different window/tab, visit another website (different host) that opens a window with the same name.
Actual Results:  
The window opened in step 1 is not reused in step 2.  Step 2 opens a new window with the same name.

Expected Results:  
The window opened in step 1 is reused in step 2.

I've tested this in Safari and its behaviour is what I would expect.

Comment 1

[Richard Wiseman]

Attachment: Archive of test HTML

Extract the archive to a web server root.  In two tabs/windows, visit (for example) http://localhost/WindowNameProblem/index.html and http://127.0.0.1/WindowNameProblem/index.html.  Click one button and an information window pops up; click the other button and the same popup window should be reloaded from that server.  What actually happens is that another window with the same name is opened.

(Note that the problem does not occur if the above URLs are opened and used sequentially in the same tab/window.)

Comment 2

[Firefox Bug Husbandry Bot]

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1472046

Move all DOM bugs that haven’t been updated in more than 3 years and has no one currently assigned to P5.

If you have questions, please contact :mdaly.