Google Lets you run Native Code in Browser

Some might think Google has a vested interest in the internet, what with their constant attempts at driving everything to it. Their latest effort is Native Client, a framework that could revolutionize the web.

What is Native Client?

The web has long run its own small subset of code. HTML, CSS, Javascript, Java, Actionscript... They have made the web what it is today. But while they may be loved for their simplicity, they lack the runtime efficiency of code compiled specifically for a computer.

That’s where Native Client comes in. Native Client lets you run code compiled in the harder to use but far more efficient languages like C, C++ and C# right in the browser, with little trouble.

To say that this could have an impact on the PC space would be understated.

Built for Chrome OS?

Google recently released Chrome OS, an operating system that is, quite literally, just a web browser. Everything you do, everything you save is stored to remote servers, whether it be a video you just edited or a document you just wrote. Chrome OS has plenty of potential but faces the problem it can only run web apps.

That is where Native Client will come in.

Native Client will let you run full apps that otherwise would be relegated to the desktop. A good example would be Bastion, a dungeon-crawling hack and slash game. Bastion’s makers managed to port the game quickly so that the game could be run in the browser, where it can now be sold on the Google Web App Store.

A Revolution for Web Apps

It’s surprising that Native Client hasn’t been talked about more. Its ability to run any app ported to it (a process that developers are finding quick and painless) means that you could get far more complex apps on the web. Take, for example, photo editing solutions.

Currently all available tools are slow and cumbersome; they are all held back by the languages they are coded in. Photoshop, however, is fast and fluid. With Native Client, there is nothing stopping Adobe from porting Photoshop to the web, where it can be run in web browsers.

I can’t wait to see where this goes. This could be big for the web.

Engadget