On Friday, July 19, 2013 1:52:07 PM UTC-7, Daniel Buchner wrote: > As some of you are aware, a widget spec or two > (http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/PR-widgets-apis-20120522/) have been floating > around for a while. These specs never gained any traction for various reasons > - not the least of which was due to their overly complex structures and APIs. > > > > Well, hold on to your shorts: I would like to rekindle the idea of web > widgets, but with an eye toward simplicity that builds upon open web app > concepts and mechanism. > > > > My proposal is pretty simple: widgets are simply an alternate (or even the > same) app 'launch_path' that a developer would declared under a 'widget' key > in their existing App Manifest. The UA would launch this URL in whatever > widget UI containers it creates, for example: squares on New Tab, a floating > panel, etc., and add a few things to the document context - namely: an > imperative means for detecting the document is being displayed in a widget > state, and a new media query type 'widget' for styling (especially helpful if > the developers chooses to use a single origin for their app and widget) > > > > What this does for us: > > > > - Let's us utilize the existing declaration and installation mechanisms for > web apps (which is the same place widgets are already declared in today's > common native app packages) > > > > - Provides a great new source of content for Firefox Desktop > > > > - Primes the pump for widgets on Firefox OS using a mechanism it already > understands > > > > - Delivers huge user benefit at a relatively low cost > > > > > > "Stupid-Simple Web Widgets: great idea, or greatest idea?...I'm gonna put you > down for great."
Oh, and if the word 'widget' makes you feel dirty and sad-faced (which it shouldn't, as Android proved and iOS copied), let's just imagine we're talking about the W3 Web Dingus spec for now and focus on the user value proposition ;) _______________________________________________ dev-webapps mailing list [email protected] https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-webapps
