[Feature]: Support basename="" for HashRouter

[thejohnhoffer]

What is the new or updated feature that you are suggesting?

For the HashRouter, it should be possible to start the location.hash with # instead of #/. To this end, I request the ability to serialize relative location instead of absolute location.

PR #8460 supports writing the relative path in the URL, configured to take effect when the Router basename property is given as "", instead of the default of "/".

UPDATE:

This is now possible with react-router-dom@6.1.1 and use-hash-history. I hope it will be soon available with an upcoming release of history through PR #911.

Examples

When using HashRouter, the default basename is "/". This results in urls like this:

example.com/#/
example.com/#/abc
example.com/#/1/2/3

After PR #8460, using <HashRouter basename=""> results in urls like this:

example.com/#
example.com/#abc
example.com/#1/2/3

I've created a codepen to compare the current behavior of <HashRouter basename=""> for the current V6 of react-router-dom and my PR #8460

Why should this feature be included?

In react-router-dom@v5, it was once possible to append directly after # with hashType="noslash". The hashType property of createHashHistory was available in history@4, but lost in history@5, so the additional configuration it afforded the HashRouter was removed in react-router-dom@6 with no replacement.

In react-router-dom@6, there is no possibility of hashType="noslash", so I propose we implement it whenever the user provides basename="". The other missing hashType of hashType="hashbang" could also supported with basename="!#", but that might be a separate issue.

The ability to begin hashes with # instead of #/ is not only cosmetic. I am migrating an existing website from vanilla javascript to react, and backwards compatibility of existing URL hash values requires # instead of #/.

[thejohnhoffer]

This could now be addressed with PR #8463 and remix-run/history PR #911. My previous PR #8460 was closed, but I'm hopeful the new PRs will also be considered.

UPDATE:

This is now possible with react-router-dom@6.1.1 and use-hash-history. I hope it will be soon available with an upcoming release of history through PR #911.