[whatwg] Installable web apps

[Simpson, Grant Leyton]

One question I have off the top of my head is how updates are handled. I like the idea of better integration with the OS and the browser but I don't want to lose one of what I see as the best elements of web app development, namely the need to not have to update clients' copies of the app individually.

On May 24, 2010, at 4:45 PM, Aaron Boodman wrote:

> This has come up before, but since Google has officially announced the
> project at IO, and Mozilla has voiced interest in the idea on their
> blog, I felt like it might be a good to revisit.
> 
> Google would like to make today's web apps "installable" in Chrome.
>> From a user's point of view, installing a web app would:
> 
> - Give it a permanent access point in the browser with a big juicy icon
> - Allow the browser to treat a web app as a conceptual unit (eg give
> it special presentation, show how much storage it uses)
> - Add some light integration with the OS
> - (optionally) Pre-grant some permissions that would otherwise have to
> be requested one-at-a-time (eg geolocation, notifications)
> - (optionally) Grant access to some APIs that would otherwise be
> inaccessible (eg system clipboard, permanent storage)
> 
> There is some more background on our thinking at these two URL:
> 
> http://code.google.com/chrome/apps/
> http://code.google.com/chrome/apps/docs
> 
> We have started implementing this using Chrome's current extension
> system. However, we'd like it if installation could eventually work in
> other browsers. Is there any interest from other vendors in
> collaborating on the design of such a system?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> - a