Comments on: URLs are special; Where the Web beats Native http://almaer.com/blog/urls-are-special-where-the-web-beats-native blogging about life, the universe, and everything tech Sat, 08 Sep 2012 07:06:53 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Arpit http://almaer.com/blog/urls-are-special-where-the-web-beats-native/comment-page-1#comment-47585 Arpit Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:59:04 +0000 http://almaer.com/blog/?p=2868#comment-47585 I feel the biggest thing missing from the web is higher level controls. I wish I HTML would evolve to look more like XUL, Flex or XAML. For example designing a list should only require defining it's item renderers, and it's API should include events like selected, dragged, dropped, etc. We can do these now but we end up building them from ground up and different implementations are inconsistent. This also requires less markup to define the app, which is important in today's mobile app world with spotty connectivity. I guess I would really want browsers to evolve into something like Appcelerator Titanium, that uses runtime reflection to instantiate native controls. Some more thoughts here, it's an old post of mine, but the thoughts remain valid (I hope) http://www.arpitonline.com/blog/2009/11/23/web-applications-vs-real-applications-and-a-thoughts-on-moving-off-the-webpage-browser-for-apps-idea/ I feel the biggest thing missing from the web is higher level controls. I wish I HTML would evolve to look more like XUL, Flex or XAML. For example designing a list should only require defining it’s item renderers, and it’s API should include events like selected, dragged, dropped, etc. We can do these now but we end up building them from ground up and different implementations are inconsistent. This also requires less markup to define the app, which is important in today’s mobile app world with spotty connectivity.

I guess I would really want browsers to evolve into something like Appcelerator Titanium, that uses runtime reflection to instantiate native controls.

Some more thoughts here, it’s an old post of mine, but the thoughts remain valid (I hope)
http://www.arpitonline.com/blog/2009/11/23/web-applications-vs-real-applications-and-a-thoughts-on-moving-off-the-webpage-browser-for-apps-idea/

]]> By: Ron http://almaer.com/blog/urls-are-special-where-the-web-beats-native/comment-page-1#comment-47582 Ron Sat, 13 Nov 2010 20:28:44 +0000 http://almaer.com/blog/?p=2868#comment-47582 >>> It would be nice if the native system would allow me to register a URL handler >>> so the New York Times app could say “hey, if you see a nytimes URL, >>> hand it to me and I can take care of it” Actually, it is possible - at least on iOS. An app can register a URL scheme and be launched by the OS when such a URL is clicked by the user. See "Communicating with Other Applications" in http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/iphone/conceptual/iphoneosprogrammingguide/StandardBehaviors/StandardBehaviors.html I suspect this could also be done on Android using the SchemeRegistry (http://developer.android.com/reference/org/apache/http/conn/scheme/SchemeRegistry.html) >>> It would be nice if the native system would allow me to register a URL handler >>> so the New York Times app could say “hey, if you see a nytimes URL,
>>> hand it to me and I can take care of it”

Actually, it is possible – at least on iOS. An app can register a URL scheme and be launched by the OS when such a URL is clicked by the user.

See “Communicating with Other Applications” in http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/iphone/conceptual/iphoneosprogrammingguide/StandardBehaviors/StandardBehaviors.html

I suspect this could also be done on Android using the SchemeRegistry (http://developer.android.com/reference/org/apache/http/conn/scheme/SchemeRegistry.html)

]]> By: Kris Zyp http://almaer.com/blog/urls-are-special-where-the-web-beats-native/comment-page-1#comment-47581 Kris Zyp Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:34:32 +0000 http://almaer.com/blog/?p=2868#comment-47581 I can't help but think that native apps could integrate with the web much better, it seems that the web actually was designed with many of these types of native applications in mind with MIME system. If native applications were registered as media handlers with the browser, they could launch in response to content negotiated media types (perhaps application/twitter and application/nytimes from your example). Click on a link to a twitter account and your native twitter app would popup, just like you want, and just like the web was designed to do. As long as native apps also present links that delegate back to the browser (which may in turn delegate back to another native app), it is participating in the web, at least at the REST level anyway (albiet not at the HTML level). I can’t help but think that native apps could integrate with the web much better, it seems that the web actually was designed with many of these types of native applications in mind with MIME system. If native applications were registered as media handlers with the browser, they could launch in response to content negotiated media types (perhaps application/twitter and application/nytimes from your example). Click on a link to a twitter account and your native twitter app would popup, just like you want, and just like the web was designed to do. As long as native apps also present links that delegate back to the browser (which may in turn delegate back to another native app), it is participating in the web, at least at the REST level anyway (albiet not at the HTML level).

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