Re: [manifest] A way to link to related applications (#326)

This sounds bad for the web as it risks further fragmenting the web into multiple walled gardens of content. Whether or not to include this in the spec probably comes down to what is the lesser of two evils:
a) Putting up with the current slam-door approach of mobile web sites which force users to download a non-web app based on a UA string by refusing to display, and the use of proprietary meta tags.
b) Adding something to the web manifest spec which is explicitly not to do with web apps and is intended to draw users away from the web.

I actually quite like Android's:
  <link rel="alternate" href="android-app://com.example.android/example/gizmos" />

except that the href attribute points to a non-web "hypertext reference" with a proprietary URL scheme.

If we wanted to add something similar to the manifest to link to alternative apps, ideally the alternative app would have a web URL and a Content Type:

  {
    "name": "Facebook",
    ...
    "alternate": [
      {
        "type": "application/vnd.android.package-archive",
        "href": "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.katana"
       },
       {
         "type": "application/x-chrome-extension",
         "href": "https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/facebook/boeajhmfdjldchidhphikilcgdacljfm"
       },
       {
         "type": "application/octet-stream",
         "href": "https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/facebook/id284882215"
       },
       {
          "type": "application/octet-stream",
          "href": "http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-gb/app/facebook/add3d66a-358d-4fe2-be68-8a3f934e9ea1"
       },
       {
          "type": "application/vnd.android.package-archive",
          "href": "http://www.amazon.co.uk/Facebook/dp/B0094BB4TW/"
       },
       {
         "type": "application/x-webrunner"
         "href": "https://apps.ubuntu.com/cat/applications/prism-facebook/"
       },
       {
         "type": "application/octet-stream",
         "href": "http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/680/"
       }
    ]
  }

That's maybe a bit odd because the URL doesn't point to an alternate app manifest or even the app itself, but a web page which describes an alternate app. That's maybe the best we could do given that non-web apps don't tend to have web URLs!

Hopefully this example also illustrates how badly this scales.

Alternatively, implementers could add vendor-prefixed properties to the manifest for this purpose, using whatever identifiers they like.

---
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
https://github.com/w3c/manifest/issues/326#issuecomment-77586210