The Rich Web Clients Activity contains the work within W3C on Web Applications.
With the ubiquity of Web browsers and Web document formats across a range of platforms and devices, many developers are using the Web as an application environment. Examples of applications built on rich Web clients include reservation systems, online shopping or auction sites, games, multimedia applications, calendars, maps, chat applications, weather displays, clocks, interactive design applications, stock tickers, office document and spreadsheet applications, currency converters, and data entry/display systems.
Web client applications typically have some form of programmatic control. They may run within the browser or within another host application. A Web client application is typically downloaded on demand each time it is "executed," allowing a developer to update the application for all users as needed. Such applications are usually smaller than regular desktop applications in terms of code size and functionality, and may have interactive rich graphical interfaces.
The work of the Web Applications (WebApps) WG covers both APIs and formats. APIs are the assorted scripting methods that are used to build rich Web applications, mashups, Web 2.0 sites. Standardizing APIs improves interoperability and reduces site development costs. Formats covers certain markup languages, including Widgets for deploying small Web applications outside the browser, and XBL for skinning applications.
The WebApps WG has brought several of its deliverables further along the Recommendation Track. The group's first Recommendation, Element Traversal, was published in December, and is widely implemented in browsers. Several other specifications, including Selectors API, Widgets 1.0: Packaging and Configuration, and Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (formerly "Access Control for Cross-site Requests"), have entered Last Call and are well-positioned to move forward quickly.
Several new specifications have been proposed to be taken up by the WebApps WG, including functionality originally included in drafts of the HTML5 specification, such as Web Workers and Web Sockets, and this group will propose a charter amendment to the Advisory Committee soon to consider these deliverables. The active participation in the WebApps WG by all major browser vendors and many other experts and key technology interests have made it a productive and popular group to join and to bring work to, but the group intends to balance new work with the completion of existing deliverables.
The full list of WebApps WG deliverables and their publication status may be found on the WebApps WG wiki.
The CDF Working Group, having brought two CDR specifications to Candidate Recommendation and provided full test suites, has been put in hibernation pending an implementation report with multiple interoperable implementations for each test. No significant Team resources will be dedicated to this Working Group, other than coordination with implementers as progress is made. Since there is currently good progress on implementation, the expectation is that these specifications will proceed to Recommendation status, and the CDF WG will be closed.
The Selectors API, Widgets 1.0: Packaging and Configuration, and Cross-Origin Resource Sharing specifications are expected to transition to CR or PR in the coming months.
| Group | Chair | Team Contact | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compound Document Formats Working Group (participants) | None | Doug Schepers | Chartered until 31 May 2010 |
| Web Applications Working Group (participants) | Charles McCathieNevile, Arthur Barstow | Doug Schepers, Michael(tm) Smith | Chartered until 30 June 2010 |
This Activity Statement was prepared for the October 2008 W3C Advisory Committee Meeting (Members only) per section 5 of the W3C Process Document. Generated from group data.
Doug Schepers, Rich Web Clients Activity Lead
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