MWC 2012: Mozilla Marketplace Is Open To Developers

The Mozilla Marketplace is open for business.

Well, it is at least open for app submissions from developers. In a blog post, Joe Stagner, senior programme manager for development technologies and community at Mozilla, said developers using HTML, CSS and JavaScript can develop Web-based apps for using one code base for all popular devices.

Consumer access later

“Now, developers can build apps and submit them to the Mozilla Marketplace so that when the consumer side of the marketplace launches later this year, your apps will be listed and consumers will be able to begin installing and using your apps from the first day of business,” Stagner said.

Stagner noted that developers and organisations large and small have expressed interested in building apps for the Mozilla Marketplace. “These apps are built using HTML5 for app structure; CSS3 for layout, visual aesthetics and visual behaviours; and JavaScript for logical implementation,” he said. “This combination of the latest standards-based Web development technologies is enjoying unprecedented popularity and is changing the way we build both Websites and apps.”

Mozilla is focused on supporting mobile apps that will run across all modern HTML5-capable Web browsers.

The Mozilla Web Apps platform will feature the Mozilla Marketplace, the first operating system- and device-independent market for apps based on open Web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript and CSS; new Mozilla-proposed APIs that advance the Web as a platform and will be submitted to the W3C for standardisation; and a new identity system for the Web that puts users in control of their content, tying apps to the user and not the device or platform.

“On the Marketplace side, we’ve been working on identity integration with Persona [BrowserID],” Stagner said. “We’re also developing payments, app sync, backup and recovery, as well as an outstanding online app discovery and acquisition experience, so that both consumers and developers can easily get what they want from the Marketplace experience, on the front side or on the back end.”

Developers should follow these links to get started building their apps and then submit them to the Mozilla Marketplace:

Apps on MDN: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/apps

Mozilla Apps Wiki: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Apps

HTML5 Docs: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/HTML/HTML5

Mozilla Persona: https://browserid.org/