Google Plans Store For Web Apps

Ripping a page from Apple's playbook, Google on Wednesday announced that it plans to launch a Chrome Web Store that will sell Web apps.

Apple has managed to turn its iTunes App Store into the envy of its rivals, prompting a variety of imitations, including Google's Android Market and the enterprise-oriented Google Apps Marketplace.

But the Chrome Web Store differs from the iTunes App Store in that it's not selling software that gets downloaded and installed in most cases. Rather, it's selling some app-related metadata -- a .crx file containing configuration data -- and a URL, a string that tells the buyer's browser where to look to find the purchased app. It’s selling the home address of Web apps, a pointer to where the apps can be found.

For this, Google will take a cut of 30%. At least that's the revenue split that Google executives on Wednesday suggested was likely. Free Web apps will also be offered.

"An installable Web app is a normal Web site with a bit of extra metadata," Google explains in its developer documentation. "You build and deploy this app exactly as you would build and deploy any Web app, using any server-side or client-side technologies you like. The only thing that is different about an installable Web app is how the app is packaged."

Google will actually be adding some value in the process. Beyond the ability of the company's brand to engender trust in potential Web app users, Google will generate browser shortcuts that make Web apps more visible.

Google hasn't said whether support for OpenID Single Sign-On will be mandatory, as it is in the Google Apps Marketplace.

Nor has Google finalized its content policies for the Chrome Web Store. It's likely to take a more tolerant stand than Apple, which has been widely criticized for its opaque, shifting standards about what is and isn't acceptable in its iTunes App Store.

Chances are Google will adopt policies similar to its Android Market and the Google Apps Marketplace, which prohibit illegal and abusive content.

And were Google to adopt restrictive policies, Web developers and users would have other options, since the company has no say over apps developed for the Web.

Company executives said that Google was in discussion with other browser makers and with potential partners, which suggests that there may be other Web stores similar to what's being built into Chrome and Chrome OS.

The installation process for Web apps will not be all that different from installing a browser extension, except insofar as Web apps will disclose their use of HTML5 APIs like Geolocation and localStorage and seek approval where permission should be sought.

After installation, the Web app gets a large icon in the Chrome app launcher area and a dedicated browser tab.

Google's store will support something called a serverless Web app, which will be downloaded to run locally in the browser.

"Serverless apps are nice if you don't want to run a service to host your app or if you want to build an app that works really well offline," explains Google. "To build a serverless app, you put all the resources that the app requires -- HTML, JavaScript, CSS, images, and any other files -- into the app's .crx file."

The Chrome Web Store will also support apps in other formats, specifically Adobe Flash and Unity3D files, through Google's Native Client technology. Native Client allows developers to create Web app components in C++ (or other languages that compile to object code like C, Objective-C, and Fortran) that run securely inside the Chrome browser.

Makers of other development tools should be able implement Native Client support to enable code authored their products to run in Chrome and have the option of Chrome Web Store distribution.

Google is promising more technical details about the Chrome Web Store in a few months, prior to the launch of Chrome OS toward the end of the year.