System and methods for integration of an application runtime environment into a user computing environment

Abstract

Systems and methods for creating application runtime environments or application environments that can be downloaded and integrated into the computing environment of a computing device are disclosed. One embodiment of the invention includes a computing device on which an operating system is installed that creates a computing environment, an Application Platform application, where the Application Platform application is at least partially natively implemented and creates an application runtime environment when executed by the computing device, and a cross-platform application, where the cross-platform application is configured to be executed within the application runtime environment and is not natively executable by the computing device. In addition, the Application Platform application is configured to integrate the cross-platform application into the computing environment of the computing device by providing at least one launch point for the cross-platform application within the computing environment.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A computing device configured to execute a cross-platform application, comprising:
 a processor;   storage;   an operating system stored within the storage that configures the processor to create a computing environment;   an application platform application, where the application platform application is at least partially natively implemented within the computing environment and creates an application runtime environment when executed by the processor; and   a cross-platform application configured to be executed within the application runtime environment and is not natively executable within the computing environment;   wherein the cross-platform application comprises an image file containing an icon;   wherein the application platform application is configured to integrate the cross-platform application into the computing environment of the computing device by providing at least one launch point for the cross-platform application within the computing environment created by the operating system, where the icon is displayed within the computing environment as the launch point for the cross-platform application; and   wherein the application platform application is configured to obtain event data from the operating system in response to an interaction with the launch point and process the obtained event data to execute the cross-platform application.   
     
     
         2 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the computing environment is a desktop computing environment that includes a task bar; and   at least one launch point is an icon in the taskbar of the desktop computing environment.   
     
     
         3 . The computing device of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the application platform application is configured to communicate with the operating system to add a badge to the at least one launch point for the cross-platform application within the desktop computing environment; and   the cross-platform application executing within the runtime environment is configured to utilize the application platform application to add a badge notification to the launch point for the cross-platform application within the desktop computing environment.   
     
     
         4 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the application platform application is configured to render pop up notifications within the desktop computing environment; and   the cross-platform application executing within the runtime environment is configured to utilize the application platform application to generate a pop up notification.   
     
     
         5 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the application platform application is configured to render pop up notifications in which the pop up notification contains a web page rendered by a chromeless web browser application; and   the cross-platform application executing within the runtime environment is configured to utilize the application platform application to generate a pop up notification containing a web page rendered by the chromeless web browser application.   
     
     
         6 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the application platform application is configured to monitor URL changes in a chromeless web browser application and to extract an access token from one of the URLs returned to the chromeless web browser application by a remote server; and   the application platform application is configured to locally store the access token.   
     
     
         7 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device includes a processor and non-volatile storage and the application platform application and the cross-platform application are stored in the non-volatile storage of the computing device. 
     
     
         8 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the application platform application is configured to continuously execute the cross-platform application. 
     
     
         9 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the application platform application is configured to display a listing of cross-platform applications that can be installed on the computing device. 
     
     
         10 . The computing device of  claim 9 , wherein the application platform application is configured to execute a cross-platform application to display the listing of cross-platform applications that can be installed on the computing device. 
     
     
         11 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the application platform application is configured to coordinate the installation of a second cross-platform application on the computing device. 
     
     
         12 . The computing device of  claim 11 , wherein the application platform application is configured to verify the authenticity of the cross-platform application with a verification server prior to installing the second cross-platform application. 
     
     
         13 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the application platform application is configured to verify itself with a verification server. 
     
     
         14 . The computing device of  claim 13 , wherein the application platform application is configured to disable itself when instructed to by the verification server. 
     
     
         15 . The computing device of  claim 13 , wherein the application platform application is configured to initiate the installation of an updated version of the application platform application when instructed to by the verification server. 
     
     
         16 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the application platform application is configured to verify the cross-platform application with a verification server. 
     
     
         17 . The computing device of  claim 16 , wherein the application platform application is configured to disable the cross-platform application when instructed to by the verification server. 
     
     
         18 . The computing device of  claim 16 , wherein the application platform application is configured to initiate the installation of an updated version of the cross-platform application when instructed to by the verification server. 
     
     
         19 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the application platform application is configured to enable cross-platform applications executing within the runtime environment to access local storage. 
     
     
         20 . The computing device of  claim 19 , wherein each cross-platform application has its own storage domain in local storage. 
     
     
         21 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the cross-platform application comprises:
 a file containing the logic of the cross-platform application in a scripting language configured to be executed within the application runtime environment created by the application platform application; and   at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification in a rendering language configured to be rendered by the application platform application.   
     
     
         22 . The computing device of  claim 21 , wherein the application platform application comprises:
 a rendering engine process configured to implement the logic of the cross-platform application and to render the pop up notification; and   an integration process configured to enable the cross-platform application to communicate with operating system processes.   
     
     
         23 . The computing device of  claim 21 , wherein the integration process is further configured to enable the cross-platform application to communicate with natively implemented processes executing on the computing device. 
     
     
         24 . The computing device of  claim 23 , wherein the integration process is configured to expose APIs that enable the cross-platform application to make modifications to the computing environment. 
     
     
         25 . The computing device of  claim 24 , wherein the application platform application is configured to enable cross-platform applications executing within the runtime environment to access local storage. 
     
     
         26 . The computing device of  claim 24 , wherein the application platform application process is configured to generate a hash based on at least one of the file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification and to provide the hash to a verification server. 
     
     
         27 . The computing device of  claim 26 , wherein the application platform application is configured to disable the cross-platform application in response to an instruction from the verification server. 
     
     
         28 . The computing device of  claim 26 , wherein the application platform application is configured to initiate installation of an updated version of the cross-platform application in response to an instruction from the verification server. 
     
     
         29 . The computing device of  claim 21 , wherein the application platform application is configured to apply a badge to the icon launch point in response to instructions in the file containing the logic of the cross-platform application. 
     
     
         30 . The computing device of  claim 21 , wherein the application platform application is configured to apply a badge to the icon launch point in response to instructions in one of the at least one files containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification. 
     
     
         31 . The computing device of  claim 21 , wherein:
 the application platform application is configured to render pop up notifications in which the pop up notification contains a web page rendered by a chromeless web browser application; and   the cross-platform application executing within the runtime environment is configured to pass a URL to the application platform application to render a pop up notification containing a web page rendered by the chromeless web browser application using the URL.   
     
     
         32 . The computing device of  claim 31 , wherein:
 the application platform application is configured to monitor URL changes in the chromeless web browser application and to extract an access token from one of the URLs returned to the chromeless web browser application by a remote server; and   the application platform application is configured to locally store the access token.   
     
     
         33 . The computing device of  claim 32 , wherein the file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification share a local storage context when executed by the application process application. 
     
     
         34 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the application platform application is configured to coordinate data transfer between an application executing within the computing environment of the computing device and a web application via a coordination server. 
     
     
         35 . The computing device of  claim 1 , where the application platform application is configured to configure the computing environment of the computing device by coordinating the installation of a plurality of cross-platform applications in response to instructions from a verification server. 
     
     
         36 . A method of installing a cross-platform application on a computing device containing an operating system creating a computing environment on which an application platform application is installed, comprising:
 downloading an installation package; and   saving the file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification to non-volatile storage on the computing device;   wherein the installation package comprises:
 a file containing logic for a cross-platform application in a scripting language configured to be executed within an application runtime environment created by an application platform application installed on the computing device; 
 at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification in a rendering language configured to be rendered by the application platform application; and 
 an icon image file configured to be displayed by the application platform application as an launch point within the computing environment created by the operating system of the computing device. 
   
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the installation package comprises a header and a compressed payload and the header includes a public key and a digital signature for the package and the compressed payload comprises the file containing logic for the cross-platform application and the at least one file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 38 , further comprising verifying the authenticity of the installation package using the public key and the digital signature. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the compressed payload further comprises a manifest file including the same public key as the public key in the header of the installation package. 
     
     
         40 . A method of executing a cross-platform application on a computing device, comprising:
 displaying a launch point within a computing environment generated by the operating system of a computing device, wherein:
 the launch point is displayed as an icon; and 
 the icon is contained in an image file contained in the cross-platform application; and 
 the icon is generated by an application platform application running within the computing environment generated by the operating system; 
   executing instructions in a locally stored file containing the logic of a cross-platform application in response to user selection of the launch point using the application platform application, where the instructions are in a scripting language that is not natively executable and at least a portion of the application platform application is natively implemented; and   rendering a pop up notification using the application platform application using a file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification and in response to instructions within the locally stored file containing the logic of the cross-platform application, where the instructions are in a rendering language that is not natively executable.   
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the application platform application performs an operating system call to display the launch point within the computing environment generated by the operating system of the computing device. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising performing an operating system call using the application platform application to apply a badge to the launch point within the computing environment generated by the operating system of the computing device in response to execution by the application platform application of instructions within at least one of the locally stored file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the locally stored file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 40 , further comprising:
 storing data in local storage in response to execution by the application platform application of instructions within at least one of the locally stored file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the locally stored file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification; and   retrieving data in local storage response to execution by the application platform application of instructions within at least one of the locally stored file containing the logic of the cross-platform application and the locally stored file file containing instructions for rendering a pop up notification.