UPDATED 15:55 EDT / JULY 12 2013

NEWS

Google Chrome 28 Arrives with More APIs and Extensions for Developers

Google has now officially released version 28 of its popular Chrome browser. The main novelties of this version of Chrome are the rendering engine change, the new notification system, and more improved Chrome developer tools. The release also includes a number of bug fixes, and a new version of the V8 JavaScript engine.

Chrome 28 is the first version of Google’s browser based on Google’s new HTML rendering flashing engine Blink, which Google have been working in collaboration with Opera Software.

Gmail Style Notification for Developers

With native client and other modern technologies like Web RTC, Web applications have very little to envy the native software. Google continues its vision, outlined by its co-founder Larry Page at the conclusion of the Google I/O 2013 conference to continue providing multiplatform applications based on Web technologies.

The browser development team of Google has been working on a feature that can tells us when we’re late for a meeting, someone send us a message or can even be aware of the activity in our applications and services such as Gmail, Google+, Calendar etc.

For the first time websites can actually go beyond the browser displaying rich desktop notifications, even when the browser is running in the background. Compared to Gmail notifications available for a little over two years, this rich notifications can display visual and propose actions in more than one way.

The notifications can contain formatted text and images and also offer to respond directly to an inserted e-mail. The list format is also supported, so that, for example, an app can show several unread emails in a notification.

Naturally, several Google services can exploit these new notifications. Some third-party applications such as the New York Times or Spotify can display notification catering to users’ demand. Developers can also set different priorities for how long individual notifications remain visible on the screen before they go to the notification center.

Google also offered the following details for developers:

Apart from the basic notification type, you can use other formats like image to show a preview of an image within the notification or list to coalesce multiple notifications from your app into a single one. For example, a mail app could show multiple unread emails within a single notification using the list type. You can also specify different priorities for notifications that determine how long they stay on the screen before moving into the notification center where they continue to live until dismissed by the app or user.

In addition to Google’s own products like Gmail, calendar, and Google+ so far only a few experimental applications generate notifications. One example is Ouistiti which receives a daily photo of the user and placed in the notification area. However, more developers would now be interested to use the notification module. Developers who want to learn how to start using rich notifications with their app or extension can check Google’s rich notification test app and documentation.

Browser Engine Blink

This latest version of Chrome is also the first that uses Google’s new browser engine Blink, a derivative version of Webkit. The search engine wants its own version to do away with many unnecessary codes in the original rendering engine.

Blink includes a new thread-based HTML parser, which relieves the actual JavaScript thread in some areas. According to Google, the parser no longer holds as often, which reduces pause times by up to 40 percent. Furthermore, the JavaScript engine now supports the development of Mozilla JavaScript extension asm.js.

More APIs and Extensions

In addition to Mozilla JavaScript extension asm.js, Chrome 28 contains some innovations, such as the full screen API. Developers can now use CSS @ supports to determine whether the browser supports certain CSS values. With the pseudo-class: unresolved element can be custom designed using CSS, which are not registered in the browser.

Google has also updated its Chrome developer tools as a part of the Chrome Packaged Apps including a new group of APIs that provide more access to important tools. The Chrome Packaged Apps will add more access to Google services including Google Analytics, Google APIs and Google Wallet, and better OS integration using services such as Bluetooth and native app communication.

The Bluetooth API allows packaged apps to connect to Bluetooth devices such as smartphones and headsets. The Native Messaging API will allow apps to communicate with native applications to the device including camera and motion sensor.

The Analytics API will help developers to collect user engagement data from their applications such as adoption and usage of specific features, useful metrics and reports to measure number of active users. Finally, the Media Gallery API will allow developers to read media files like music, videos and images from the local disk with user consent.


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