Google unveils tools designed for Internet browser applications.
The search engine giant is trying to persuade developers that more and more applications will be developed and stored on the web, in contrast to the client/server market, which is dominated by Microsoft Corp.
By Eric Fulcher
May 29, 2008 10:29 AM GMT
Google Inc. on Wednesday announced new Internet tools designed to beef up the power of the web browser as a development platform and encourage developers away from client/server desktop applications. The initiatives, which come as Google is increasingly trying to extend itself beyond its core Internet search market, are designed to generously help developers create larger and more complex applications, traditionally the preserve of desktop applications, that can run on a web browser. At a developer conference Wednesday in San Francisco, Google announced new development capabilities for its App Engine, a tool which allows developers to run applications on Google's huge server infrastructure. Google is increasingly reaching out to the developer community to build a user base for products that extend beyond search, said Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering, mobile and developer divisions.
This means that alongside allowing developers to create applications which can be hosted by Google, it wants to make the web browser itself more powerful."We want to accelerate the capability of the browser," Gundotra said. "The web is maturing at an amazing rate, and it's getting better and better. I don't think there's any question that in terms of the question of 'What has become the dominant development platform?' The web has won," he added. Google unveiled prices for AppEngine that are designed to enable developers to create larger and more robust applications. The company also lifted earlier memory size restrictions. It showcased the use of Gears, a set of tools that enable databases to be accessed via a web browser, on MySpace, the social networking website owned by News Corp.
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