HTML5 ARTICLE

July 23, 2012

Google Chrome Package Apps Act Like Regular Desktop Applications


When Google Chrome was first released, there were plenty of people who wondered what sort of things people would be able to do with it. Google (News Alert), being one of the top computing companies in the world, was going to be offering a browser that would almost certainly be top of the line when it came to additional features. One of those features has just been found out in the form of the Packaged Apps functionality. 

The new kinds of packaged apps will actually be able to be downloaded through the Chrome browser alone and then installed on the computer like any other program. The apps will act much like any other Windows program, storing data on the actual harddrive and establishing a shortcut on the desktop if the user so chooses. 

"Packaged apps will no longer be tied to the browser," said Chrome Engineering Manager Erik Kay in a video about Chrome packaged apps. "Rather than running as a tab inside of Chrome, packaged apps can be launched from outside of Chrome, have their own top-level windows, and generally behave like first-class apps on the operating system.The user shouldn’t be aware your app was built with Web technologies."

The way these applications are designed to work is much the same way that HTML5 programs are built to work on any and all browsers. The Packaged Apps contain the HTML5 programming language as well as CSS3 for formatting and effects, and JavaScript for app execution. Despite these programming features that are usually used when talking about Web apps, Chrome’s Packaged Apps truly do behave just as any other installed program. They can also be deleted off of Windows the same way any other applications can be. Of course, while there is an installation process, Kay says that the apps work as a native app but they have the safety of a webpage.

With these kinds of applications becoming more popular, HTML5 looks like it might be branching out away from the Web and onto your desktop.

Want to learn more about HTML5? Then be sure to attend DevCon5, in New York City, July 23-24, 2012. HTML5 has the potential to revolutionize user interfaces, challenge the status quo and change the future of both desktop and mobile web experiences. Join fellow web developers, designers, and architects, as well as technology leaders and business strategists who will gather in New York to learn strategies and tactics to implement and execute HTML5. For more information on registering for DevCon5 click here.




Edited by Rachel Ramsey





HTML5 RESOURCES

HTML 5 Demos and Examples

HTML 5 experimentation and demos I've hacked together. Click on the browser support icon or the technology tag to filter the demos.... Learn More

HTML5 GAMES

HTML5games.com is the largest and most comprehensive directory of HTML5 games on the internet... Learn More

The HTML5 test

How well does your browser support HTML5?... Learn More

Working Draft (WHATWG)

This is the Editor’s Draft from WHATWG. You can use it online or print the available PDF version... Learn More

HTML5 Flip Book

Free jQuery and HTML5 flip book maker for PDF to online page turning book conversion... Learn More