[duped]

You're not talking about "good" APIs but "the same API." And if you're going to argue that operating system vendors should provide the same APIs for things that are deeply integrated into the value they provide and make money by selling, then you're going to have an uphill battle.

POSIX is a good example of a lowest common denominator that is "good enough" for many kinds of programs, but not consumer software applications with GUIs. That common denominator is the kind of cross-platform GUI toolkit/framework that we're talking about. a11y is a feature of that, not of something like POSIX. And no OS vendor is going to try and create such a standard, or if one is created they won't try and follow it - because anything that makes applications better on other platforms makes their platform worth less.

AccessKit is a really laudable effort to decouple the a11y API from the UI. It would be great if many GUI toolkits adopted it, but it does affect their design in non trivial ways.

Summed up: what you're asking is "why don't Apple and Microsoft make it easier for developers to make software developed on Apple platforms better on Microsoft or vice versa" and the answer should be self evident. These APIs exist to create value for the platform, not for other platforms. Standards don't exist for portability, they exist to create lock-in and entrench existing players.

[apitman]

> what you're asking is "why don't Apple and Microsoft make it easier for developers to make software developed on Apple platforms better on Microsoft or vice versa"

No, what I'm asking is why the responsibility is always put on GUI toolkit developers. If a good cross platform a11y API is possible, the moral obligation is on the OS vendors to create it and support it. If it's not possible, then why do we treat GUI toolkit devs not only as if it is, but it's somehow their job to re-implement it for every GUI library?

[duped]

The point I'm making is that its OS vendors job to develop one platform, not software that works on multiple. It seems like you misunderstand that. They don't have a moral obligation to develop APIs that work for other platforms - that's absurd. That's not even what POSIX is, and like I said, POSIX doesn't even cut it for these applications.

The obligation is in the developers making cross platform layers, like GUI toolkits. There's no obligation for MS and Apple to agree on an API, but there is an obligation for the software claiming to target both to support both APIs. That's the very nature of making something cross platform!