> How do you know that an update is incompatible? The marketplace currently generates a feature profile, which the marketplace API can understand and decide whether the app is compatible with the device. The platform/OS have no knowledge of this, and just poll whatever URL is thrown at them for updates. In this case, the mini manifest URL is the Marketplace API, which could decide whether to serve an update or not.
Could this go in the manifest? Sure, but then the client needs to know about every single feature that we sniff for, even ones that Firefox OS/Android/Desktop don't support. Also, warning a user that an app update isn't compatible is a little cruel: they can't get the update regardless, so why taunt them about it? "Your phone doesn't support the new version of the app. Too bad!" There's no action there. The user can't choose to do anything differently in many cases. > Hosted application have identifier based on their manifest URL so the runtime > can take care of that. If the runtime is polling the Marketplace, that's a bad thing and works against the idea of federated marketplaces, and is partly why hosted app blocklisting doesn't exist today. Hosted app manifests don't live on Marketplace servers, and not all apps may have been installed from the Firefox Marketplace. > Can't the runtime be clever and if there is an HTTP REDIRECT when trying to > update a manifest? Consider the case of Bit.ly a few years ago when there was that big scare that Libya was going to retract all of the LY TLDs. If an app owner suddenly lost control over their domain for legal reasons or otherwise, their app is permanently broken on all users' devices, and potentially could be hijacked by a third party in the future. -basta ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mounir Lamouri" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2013 7:29:47 AM Subject: Re: API for editing existing app installations On 22/05/13 17:58, Matt Basta wrote: > Hi all > > This was brought up in a bug, but the conversation got muddied across a > number of different issues. One thing I'd like to see is an API that allows > an app (a "marketplace app") to modify the manifest URLs (for hosted apps) or > mini manifest URLs (for packaged apps) of apps that the marketplace app has > installed. This allows us to do a few things: > > - Prevent users from getting updates to apps that are incompatible with their > devices (i.e. a developer releases a new version of a packaged app that > doesn't work on older devices which may have previously installed the app) How do you know that an update is incompatible? Shouldn't that information lives in the manifest? Then, can't the runtime (ie. Firefox OS) simply ignore the update. It could even let the user know that the lastest update is incompatible. > - Enable blocklisting of hosted apps (currently impossible) Hosted application have identifier based on their manifest URL so the runtime can take care of that. The same that Gecko has code to block malicious addons. > - Allow hosted apps to change domains (i.e.: "acmeapp.com" moves to > "getacme.com"; app changes from HTTP to HTTPS; currently impossible) Can't the runtime be clever and if there is an HTTP REDIRECT when trying to update a manifest? It would automatically make that happen if the redirection points to a valid manifest. -- Mounir _______________________________________________ dev-webapps mailing list [email protected] https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-webapps _______________________________________________ dev-webapps mailing list [email protected] https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-webapps
