Way back in .net 210, we reported on the Mozilla Labs apps project. Pascal Finette, director of Mozilla Labs, told us the company’s aim was to create a platform that would “[allow] apps to be consumed on all modern browsers and all devices, without restrictions”. This, he argued, would reduce development costs, provide opportunities for developers and promote openness.
The company has now announced that Mozilla Marketplace is open for developers to submit web apps at Mobile World Congress, and consumers should get access later this year. As per the company’s plans we reported on over a year ago, by building on open web technologies, developers will be able to write a single app that works across modern devices and platforms. The company also stated that as part of its mission to keep the web open and put people in control of their web experience, users can buy apps once and use them on any HTML5-enabled device.
”The web is the largest platform in the world. We are enabling the web to be the marketplace, giving developers the opportunity to play on the biggest playing field imaginable,” said Todd Simpson, Mozilla’s chief of innovation. “By building the missing pieces, Mozilla is now unlocking the potential of the web to be the platform for creating and consuming content everywhere.”
For developers, it’s worth noting, however, that some of the APIs Mozilla is proposing and that it says “advance the web as a platform”, have yet to be submitted to the W3C for standardisation; so tread carefully when using any not-yet-standard APIs, or working on an app for the new and open platform could contrarily leave you with an app that isn’t actually suitable for the widest range of browsers and devices after all.
Photography: Desigan Chinniah.
