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Sometimes I think I want to develop a standalone (needing neither a web server nor a browser to run) desktop GUI application for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux using HTML5, CSS and JavaScript to form the GUI.

But as far as I know, both Adobe AIR and Mozilla Prism are deprecated. What are other options for this task?

UPDATE: Responding to the answers and comments already got, I'd like to emphasize that the applications must work on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any serious modifications. The platform is to be actively developed and supported for all the 3 major PC OSes. Single-platform applications are not an option, neither are applications with limited support of one of them.

Ivan
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  • I think this could be rephrase better. But, FWIW, `.hta` files and IE9 could be used... it's not without issues, however. Also, Widgets in Windows 7 are HTML/CS (but "locked" to older IE versions). –  Jun 26 '12 at 20:35
  • E.g. "How to run a standalone application written using only HTML5/JS?" –  Jun 26 '12 at 20:37
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    Air is still completely valid. – FlavorScape Jun 26 '12 at 20:41
  • possible duplicate of [HTML5 Desktop Wrapper/Framework](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11015811/html5-desktop-wrapper-framework) – Peter Brown Nov 26 '12 at 13:07

4 Answers4

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Based upon the solutions evaluated on http://blog.neamlabs.com/post/36584972328/2012-11-26-web-app-cross-platform-desktop-distribution, these should be the most relevant HTML5 Runtimes with regards to your requirements.

  • XULRunner - Benefiting directly on Firefox development efforts, this is an extremely well-maintained solution with great cross platform support but with almost non-existant tooling or documentation for packaging and distribution other than those of Firefox and other open source XULRunner-based applications themselves
  • Chrome Installable Web Apps - Like a Chrome web app with more desktop integration. No flash support.
  • Mozilla Native Web Apps - Like a Mozilla Open Web App with better desktop integration. Still requires online installation through Firefox Marketplace. 
  • TideSDK (formerly Titanium Desktop) - Although it may appear to be the perfect solution all-round, the current state is that TideSDK is not nearly production ready (may change in a couple of months or so, due to active development)
  • node-webkit looks very relevant, not sure about the "production-ready" part though.
Ivan
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Motin
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    Is there some reason you continue to repost this same, basic answer? – Andrew Barber Nov 26 '12 at 19:19
  • And still nobody to mention the recent node.js and WebKit mix-up :-(I've read about it twice and it looks almost (just not sure if really production-ready) like the answer but I can't find the links again. – Ivan Nov 30 '12 at 02:07
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    Don't understand what's inappropriate with my answer? It answer addresses directly the OP's question "What are other options for this task?" and it takes into account only solutions that work on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any serious modifications, with an actively developed platform with support available. @Ivan I included AppJS (which is a node.js and WebKit/Chromium mix-up) in an earlier answer that got deleted by the moderators. – Motin Nov 30 '12 at 07:43
  • Found it. I hope you don't mind me adding `node-webkit` option to your answer (for future reference) before accepting it, @Motin. – Ivan Dec 02 '12 at 10:47
  • Of course not, that's the wonder of community wiki answers. Thanks :) – Motin Dec 02 '12 at 22:27
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One option is to use berklium. It wraps all the nasty chromium stuff and makes it easier to embed browser functionality in your apps.

FlavorScape
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0

There's always Microsoft Silverlight (which does have implementations for Linux/etc. if you're concerned about that, as noted on the linked page).

Wait a minute, from what I can tell Adobe AIR is still being developed, with a stable release just this past month. It's only Linux that isn't getting official releases anymore, for some strange reason.

JAB
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  • But Silverlight is not HTML5. Rather, it *is a proprietary runtime* that provides a Container that **like an Applet or Flash or Unity** can run inside a browser. –  Jun 26 '12 at 20:36
  • Neither is Adobe AIR, which uses Flash Player as its runtime environment. (Though I do apologize for misreading the question.) – JAB Jun 26 '12 at 20:39
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    Silverlight, as a cross-platform solution, is deprecated as well. – Ivan Nov 12 '12 at 00:34
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Opera Widgets is also of the kind you are looking for and is also deprecated, but can be turned on in opera:config as far as I know.

Spadar Shut
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