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3 <section id="distributing-your-application">
4 <span id="distributing"></span><h1 id="distributing-your-application"><span id="distributing"></span>Distributing Your Application</h1>
5 <div class="contents local" id="contents" style="display: none">
6 <ul class="small-gap">
7 <li><a class="reference internal" href="#portable-native-client" id="id1">Portable Native Client</a></li>
8 <li><p class="first"><a class="reference internal" href="#non-portable-native-client" id="id2">Non-portable Native Client</a></p>
9 <ul class="small-gap">
10 <li><a class="reference internal" href="#packaged-application" id="id3">Packaged application</a></li>
11 <li><a class="reference internal" href="#extension" id="id4">Extension</a></li>
12 <li><a class="reference internal" href="#hosted-application" id="id5">Hosted application</a></li>
13 <li><a class="reference internal" href="#registering-native-client-modules-to-handle-mime-types" id="id6">Registering Native Client modules to handle MIME types</a></li>
14 </ul>
15 </li>
16 </ul>
18 </div><p>This document describes how to distribute Portable Native Client applications
19 on the web, and Native Client applications through the
20 <a class="reference external" href="/chrome/web-store/docs/">Chrome Web Store</a> (CWS).</p>
21 <section id="portable-native-client">
22 <h2 id="portable-native-client">Portable Native Client</h2>
23 <p>Portable Native Client is enabled by default for web pages, so no separate
24 distribution step is requred. Making PNaCl a part of your web application is as
25 simple as embedding a manifest file that points to a <strong>pexe</strong>. See the
26 <a class="reference internal" href="/native-client/overview.html"><em>technical overview</em></a> for more details.</p>
27 <img alt="/native-client/images/nacl-in-a-web-app.png" src="/native-client/images/nacl-in-a-web-app.png" />
28 <p>The only constraint for distributing PNaCl modules with a web application is
29 abiding by the <a class="reference external" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same_origin_policy">Same-origin policy</a>. The PNaCl manifest and
30 <strong>pexe</strong> must either be served from the same domain with the HTML, or the <a class="reference external" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-origin_resource_sharing">CORS
31 mechanism</a> should
32 be used to safely host them on a different domain.</p>
33 </section><section id="non-portable-native-client">
34 <h2 id="non-portable-native-client">Non-portable Native Client</h2>
35 <p>NaCl modules are only allowed for applications distributed through the <a class="reference external" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/apps">Chrome
36 Web Store (CWS)</a>
37 The CWS requirement is in place to prevent the proliferation of Native Client
38 executables (<strong>nexe</strong>s) compiled for specific architecures (e.g., x86-32,
39 x86-64, or ARM).</p>
40 <p>In general, the considerations and guidelines for distributing applications
41 through the Chrome Web Store apply to applications that contain NaCl modules as
42 well. Here are a few pointers to relevant documentation:</p>
43 <ul class="small-gap">
44 <li><a class="reference external" href="https://developers.google.com/chrome/web-store/docs/">CWS Overview</a></li>
45 <li><a class="reference external" href="https://developers.google.com/chrome/web-store/docs/choosing">Choosing an App Type</a></li>
46 <li><a class="reference external" href="http://developer.chrome.com/apps/about_apps.html">Getting started with packaged apps</a></li>
47 <li><a class="reference external" href="https://developers.google.com/chrome/apps/docs/developers_guide">Hosted apps</a></li>
48 <li><a class="reference external" href="http://developer.chrome.com/extensions/index.html">Chrome extensions</a></li>
49 </ul>
50 <p>In this document, we&#8217;ll focus only on distribution issues specific to
51 applications that contain NaCl modules.</p>
52 <section id="packaged-application">
53 <span id="distributing-packaged"></span><h3 id="packaged-application"><span id="distributing-packaged"></span>Packaged application</h3>
54 <p>A packaged application is a special zip file (with a .crx extension) hosted in
55 the Chrome Web Store. This file contains all of the application parts: A Chrome
56 Web Store manifest file (manifest.json), an icon, and all of the regular Native
57 Client application files. Refer to
58 <a class="reference external" href="https://developer.chrome.com/apps/about_apps.html">Packaged Apps</a>
59 for more information about creating a packaged application.</p>
60 <section id="reducing-the-size-of-the-user-download-package">
61 <h4 id="reducing-the-size-of-the-user-download-package">Reducing the size of the user download package</h4>
62 <aside class="note">
63 <strong>Tip:</strong>
64 Packaging an app in a multi-platform zip file can significantly reduce the
65 download and storage requirements for the app.
66 </aside>
67 <p>As described above, to upload a packaged app to the CWS you have to create a zip
68 file with all the resources that your app needs, including .nexe files for
69 multiple architectures (x86-64, x86-32, and ARM). Prior to Chrome 28, when users
70 installed your app they had to download a .crx file from the CWS with all the
71 included .nexe files.</p>
72 <p>Starting with Chrome 28, the Chrome Web Store includes a feature called
73 <strong>multi-platform zip files.</strong> This feature lets you structure your application
74 directory and zip file in a way that reduces the size of the user download
75 package. Here&#8217;s how this feature works:</p>
76 <ul class="small-gap">
77 <li>You still include all the .nexe files in the zip file that you upload to
78 the CWS, but you designate specific .nexe files (and other files if
79 appropriate) for specific architectures.</li>
80 <li>The Chrome Web Store re-packages your app, so that users only download
81 the files that they need for their specific architecture.</li>
82 </ul>
83 <p>Here is how to use this feature:</p>
84 <ol class="arabic">
85 <li><p class="first">Create a directory called <code>_platform_specific</code>.
86 Put this directory at the same level where your CWS manifest file,
87 <code>manifest.json</code>, is located.</p>
88 </li>
89 <li><p class="first">Create a subdirectory for each specific architecture that you support,
90 and add the files for each architecture in the relevant subdirectory.</p>
91 <p>Here is a sample app directory structure:</p>
92 <pre>
93 |-- my_app_directory/
94 | |-- manifest.json
95 | |-- my_app.html
96 | |-- my_module.nmf
97 | +-- css/
98 | +-- images/
99 | +-- scripts/
100 | |-- _platform_specific/
101 | | |-- x86-64/
102 | | | |-- my_module_x86_64.nexe
103 | | |-- x86-32/
104 | | | |-- my_module_x86_32.nexe
105 | | |-- arm/
106 | | | |-- my_module_arm.nexe
107 | | |-- all/
108 | | | |-- my_module_x86_64.nexe
109 | | | |-- my_module_x86_64.nexe
110 | | | |-- my_module_x86_32.nexe
111 </pre>
112 <p>Please note a few important points about the app directory structure:</p>
113 <ul class="small-gap">
114 <li><p class="first">The architecture-specific subdirectories:</p>
115 <ul class="small-gap">
116 <li><p class="first">can have arbitrary names;</p>
117 </li>
118 <li><p class="first">must be directly under the <code>_platform_specific</code> directory; and</p>
119 </li>
120 <li><p class="first">must be listed in the CWS manifest file (see step 3 below).</p>
121 </li>
122 </ul>
123 </li>
124 <li><p class="first">You can include a fallback subdirectory that provides a download package
125 with all the architecture-specific files. (In the example above this
126 is the <code>all/</code> subdirectory.) This folder is used if the user has an
127 earlier version of Chrome (prior to Chrome 28) that does not support
128 multi-platform zip files.</p>
129 </li>
130 <li><p class="first">You cannot include any files directly in the folder
131 <code>_platform_specific</code>. All architecture-specific files
132 must be under one of the architecture-specific subdirectories.</p>
133 </li>
134 <li><p class="first">Files that are not under the <code>_platform_specific</code> directory are
135 included in all download packages. (In the example above, that
136 includes <code>my_app.html</code>, <code>my_module.nmf</code>,
137 and the <code>css/</code>, <code>images/</code>, and <code>scripts/</code> directories.)</p>
138 </li>
139 </ul>
140 </li>
141 <li><p class="first">Modify the CWS manifest file, <code>manifest.json</code>, so that it specifies which
142 subdirectory under <code>_platform_specific</code> corresponds to which architecture.</p>
143 <p>The CWS manifest file must include a new name/value pair, where the name
144 is <code>platforms</code> and the value is an array. The array has an object for
145 each Native Client architecture with two name/value pairs:</p>
146 <table border="1" class="docutils">
147 <colgroup>
148 </colgroup>
149 <thead valign="bottom">
150 <tr class="row-odd"><th class="head"><p class="first last">Name</p>
151 </th>
152 <th class="head"><p class="first last">Value</p>
153 </th>
154 </tr>
155 </thead>
156 <tbody valign="top">
157 <tr class="row-even"><td><p class="first last"><code>nacl_arch</code></p>
158 </td>
159 <td><p class="first last"><code>x86-64</code>, <code>x86-32</code>, or <code>arm</code></p>
160 </td>
161 </tr>
162 <tr class="row-odd"><td><p class="first last"><code>sub_package_path</code></p>
163 </td>
164 <td><p class="first last">the path of the directory (starting
165 with <code>_platform_specific</code>) that
166 contains the files for the designated
167 NaCl architecture</p>
168 </td>
169 </tr>
170 </tbody>
171 </table>
172 <p>Here is a sample <code>manifest.json</code> file:</p>
173 <pre>
175 &quot;name&quot;: &quot;My Reminder App&quot;,
176 &quot;description&quot;: &quot;A reminder app that syncs across Chrome browsers.&quot;,
177 &quot;manifest_version&quot;: 2,
178 &quot;minimum_chrome_version&quot;: &quot;28&quot;,
179 &quot;offline_enabled&quot;: true,
180 &quot;version&quot;: &quot;0.3&quot;,
181 &quot;permissions&quot;: [
182 {&quot;fileSystem&quot;: [&quot;write&quot;]},
183 &quot;alarms&quot;,
184 &quot;storage&quot;
186 &quot;app&quot;: {
187 &quot;background&quot;: {
188 &quot;scripts&quot;: [&quot;scripts/background.js&quot;]
191 &quot;icons&quot;: {
192 &quot;16&quot;: &quot;images/icon-16x16.png&quot;,
193 &quot;128&quot;: &quot;images/icon-128x128.png&quot;
195 &quot;platforms&quot;: [
197 &quot;nacl_arch&quot;: &quot;x86-64&quot;,
198 &quot;sub_package_path&quot;: &quot;_platform_specific/x86-64/&quot;
201 &quot;nacl_arch&quot;: &quot;x86-32&quot;,
202 &quot;sub_package_path&quot;: &quot;_platform_specific/x86-32/&quot;
205 &quot;nacl_arch&quot;: &quot;arm&quot;,
206 &quot;sub_package_path&quot;: &quot;_platform_specific/arm/&quot;
209 &quot;sub_package_path&quot;: &quot;_platform_specific/all/&quot;
213 </pre>
214 <p>Note the last entry in the CWS manifest file above, which specifies a
215 <code>sub_package_path</code> without a corresponding <code>nacl_arch</code>. This entry
216 identifies the fallback directory, which is included in the download
217 package if the user architecture does not match any of the listed NaCl
218 architectures, or if the user is using an older version of Chrome that
219 does not support multi-platform zip files.</p>
220 </li>
221 <li><p class="first">Modify your application as necessary so that it uses the files for the
222 correct user architecture.</p>
223 <p>To reference architecture-specific files, use the JavaScript API
224 <a class="reference external" href="http://developer.chrome.com/trunk/extensions/runtime.html#method-getPlatformInfo">chrome.runtime.getPlatformInfo()</a>.
225 As an example, if you have architecture-specific files in the directories
226 <code>x86-64</code>, <code>x86-32</code>, and <code>arm</code>, you can use the following JavaScript
227 code to create a path for the files:</p>
228 <pre class="prettyprint">
229 function getPath(name) {
230 return '_platform_specific/' +
231 chrome.runtime.getPlatformInfo().nacl_arch +
232 '/' + name;
234 </pre>
235 </li>
236 <li><p class="first">Test your app, create a zip file, and upload the app to the CWS as before.</p>
237 </li>
238 </ol>
239 </section><section id="additional-considerations-for-a-packaged-application">
240 <span id="additional-considerations-packaged"></span><h4 id="additional-considerations-for-a-packaged-application"><span id="additional-considerations-packaged"></span>Additional considerations for a packaged application</h4>
241 <ul class="small-gap">
242 <li>In the description of your application in the CWS, make sure to mention that
243 your application is a Native Client application that only works with the
244 Chrome browser. Also make sure to identify the minimum version of Chrome
245 that your application requires.</li>
246 <li><p class="first">Hosted and packaged applications have a &#8220;launch&#8221; parameter in the CWS
247 manifest. This parameter is present only in apps (not extensions), and it
248 tells Google Chrome what to show when a user starts an installed app. For
249 example:</p>
250 <pre>
251 &quot;launch&quot;: {
252 &quot;web_url&quot;: &quot;http://mail.google.com/mail/&quot;
254 </pre>
255 </li>
256 <li>If you want to write local data using the Pepper
257 <a class="reference external" href="/native-client/peppercpp/classpp_1_1_file_i_o">FileIO</a>
258 API, you must set the &#8216;unlimitedStorage&#8217; permission in your Chrome Web
259 Store manifest file, just as you would for a JavaScript application that
260 uses the HTML5 File API.</li>
261 <li>For packaged applications, you can only use in-app purchases.</li>
262 <li>You can place your application in the Google Web Store with access only to
263 certain people for testing. See
264 <a class="reference external" href="https://developers.google.com/chrome/web-store/docs/publish">Publishing to test accounts</a>
265 for more information.</li>
266 </ul>
267 </section></section><section id="extension">
268 <h3 id="extension">Extension</h3>
269 <p>The NaCl-specific notes for a <a class="reference internal" href="#distributing-packaged"><em>package application</em></a>
270 apply to extensions as well.</p>
271 </section><section id="hosted-application">
272 <h3 id="hosted-application">Hosted application</h3>
273 <p>The .html file, .nmf file (Native Client manifest file), and .nexe files must
274 be served from the same domain, and the Chrome Web Store manifest file must
275 specify the correct, verified domain. Other files can be served from the same
276 or another domain.</p>
277 <p>In addition, see <a class="reference internal" href="#additional-considerations-packaged"><em>Additional considerations for a packaged application</em></a>.</p>
278 </section><section id="registering-native-client-modules-to-handle-mime-types">
279 <h3 id="registering-native-client-modules-to-handle-mime-types">Registering Native Client modules to handle MIME types</h3>
280 <p>If you want Chrome to use a Native Client module to display a particular type
281 of content, you can associate the MIME type of that content with the Native
282 Client module. Use the <code>nacl_modules</code> attribute in the Chrome Web Store
283 manifest file to register a Native Client module as the handler for one or more
284 specific MIME types. For example, the bold code in the snippet below registers
285 a Native Client module as the content handler for the OpenOffice spreadsheet
286 MIME type:</p>
287 <pre>
289 &quot;name&quot;: &quot;My Native Client Spreadsheet Viewer&quot;,
290 &quot;version&quot;: &quot;0.1&quot;,
291 &quot;description&quot;: &quot;Open spreadsheets right in your browser.&quot;,
292 &quot;nacl_modules&quot;: [{
293 &quot;path&quot;: &quot;SpreadsheetViewer.nmf&quot;,
294 &quot;mime_type&quot;: &quot;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet&quot;
297 </pre>
298 <p>The value of &#8220;path&#8221; is the location of a Native Client manifest file (.nmf)
299 within the application directory. For more information on Native Client
300 manifest files, see <a class="reference internal" href="/native-client/devguide/coding/application-structure.html#manifest-file"><em>Manifest Files</em></a>.</p>
301 <p>The value of &#8220;mime_type&#8221; is a specific MIME type that you want the Native
302 Client module to handle. Each MIME type can be associated with only one .nmf
303 file, but a single .nmf file might handle multiple MIME types. The following
304 example shows an extension with two .nmf files that handle three MIME types.</p>
305 <pre>
307 &quot;name&quot;: &quot;My Native Client Spreadsheet and Document Viewer&quot;,
308 &quot;version&quot;: &quot;0.1&quot;,
309 &quot;description&quot;: &quot;Open spreadsheets and documents right in your browser.&quot;,
310 &quot;nacl_modules&quot;: [{
311 &quot;path&quot;: &quot;SpreadsheetViewer.nmf&quot;,
312 &quot;mime_type&quot;: &quot;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet&quot;
315 &quot;path&quot;: &quot;SpreadsheetViewer.nmf&quot;,
316 &quot;mime_type&quot;: &quot;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet-template&quot;
319 &quot;path&quot;: &quot;DocumentViewer.nmf&quot;,
320 &quot;mime_type&quot;: &quot;application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text&quot;
323 </pre>
324 <p>The <code>nacl_modules</code> attribute is optional&#8212;specify this attribute only if
325 you want Chrome to use a Native Client module to display a particular type of
326 content.</p>
327 </section></section></section>
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