Type=Webapp
DISCUSSION MOVED TO xdg-specs#89
DISCUSSION MOVED TO xdg-specs#89
DISCUSSION MOVED TO xdg-specs#89
Web browsers can support it, webapp developers can make use of it.
Hello
I would like to propose a new type of Desktop shortcut.
Type=Webapp
Type=Webapp is mostly, if not solely, intended for easy and ideal association of web browsers with web-based software and protocol MIME types.
Example Desktop Entry File (Alice, Monitorix, Mumble and Transmission as examples)
[Desktop Entry]
Version=2.0
Type=Webapp
Name=Alice
Comment=Altogether Lovely Internet Chatting Experience
Link=http://localhost:8080/alice/
Icon=alice
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/irc;
Actions=Connect,Mute;Deafen;MOTD;
https://github.com/leedo/alice
[Desktop Entry]
Version=2.0
Type=Webapp
Name=Monitorix
Comment=Lightweight system monitoring tool
Link=http://localhost:8080/monitorix/
Icon=monitorix
Actions=System load,Memory allocation;Active processes;Entropy;Kernel usage;Context switches;VFS usage;Filesystems usage;Disk I/O activity;Inode usage;Time spent in I/O activity;IPv4 states;IPv6 states;Active close;Passive close;UDP statistics;System services demand;IMAP and POP3 services;SMTP service;Port 25 (IN-SMTP);Port 21 (IN-FTP);Port 80 (IN-HTTP);Port 22 (IN-SSH);Port 110 (IN-POP3);Port 139 (IN-NETBIOS);Port 3306 (IN-MYSQL);Port 53 (IN-DNS);Port 143 (IN-IMAP);Users logged in;Samba users;Netatalk users;Interrupt activity;Core activity;Interrupt activity;
[Desktop Entry]
Version=2.0
Type=Webapp
Name=Mumble Web
Comment=Low latency voice communication utility
Link=http://localhost:443/mumble/
Icon=mumble
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/mumble;
Actions=Connect,Mute;Deafen;MOTD;
https://github.com/Johni0702/mumble-web
[Desktop Entry]
Version=2.0
Type=Webapp
Name=Transmission Web
Comment=A fast and easy BitTorrent client
Link=http://localhost:9091/transmission/web/
Icon=transmission
MimeType=application/x-bittorrent;x-scheme-handler/magnet;
Actions=Active,Downloading,Seeding,Paused,Finished,Open Torrent,Pause All Torrents;Start All Torrents;
How Type=Webapp differs from Type=Link?
Type=Link will call to web browser or any default application that handles a given link.
Type=Webapp will call to web browser (or any default application...) but the web browser will know that it needs to be open without tabs and with the least amount of widgets.
Advantages
Per-Desktop: Webapp developers and package maintainers can make use of this an provide an easier setup for novice users, that otherwise wouldn't know how to enjoy a given webapp on their local machine.
Security-wise: This can also help to enhance security by automatically containing/isolating WebApps in an own instance/cache/cookies etc. For example, User wants to use a WebApp which is untrustworthy and does not respect privacy, so user can contain this WebApp by launching it from a seperate launcher. More info https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/facebook-container-for-firefox/
Per-Client: Smaller amount of widgets can contribute to performance boosting.
Per-Server: Companies can use a single machine with multiple users who, on a given time, using the same executable, each operates under a different user.
Consideration for companies (see above: Per-Server)
In order to avoid the need to dedicate different ports for different users, interactive software will need to provide profile management system (i.e. login credentials user/password).
Previously discussed at mailto:xdg@lists.freedesktop.org Link: https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xdg/2016-January/013623.html