Communications of the ACM
Google, Mozilla Team Up to Create a Smarter, Action-Based Web
Image courtesy of Aidan Jones/CC/Flickr
A new meta-Web site application programming interface (API) from Google will make it easier for Web sites to pass data back and forth.
Web Intents is designed for its Chrome Web browser, and connects applications and sites across the Web. Google also plans to work with Mozilla to develop a single API that works on both the Chrome and Firefox browsers.
Google's Paul Kinlan says he was inspired by the Android platform, which uses Android Intents to pass data between Android apps. Buttons have proliferated on Web pages, but instead of adding them to a site, Web Intents provides a bridge that connects a site to any other site, which makes data transfer a quick and easy process for both users and developers.
The tool puts visitors in control, enabling them to select which actions they want to perform and which external site they want to handle those actions, and provides a generic way for sites to communicate for tasks such as editing photos, listening to music, or shortening URLs.
From Webmonkey
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