G.ho.st, the free open web based operating system / virtual computer, has launched an API aimed at allowing third party application developers to add any web-based application to G.ho.st easily and with a tight integration to the system’s data and preferences.
The API allows the following specific functions (all subject to appropriate user consent)
- Allow a user to launch a third-party web application visually integrated in a window on the G.ho.st Desktop
- Allow the third-party to rely on G.ho.st authentication to effect single sign-on
- Allow a file to be passed to the web application for viewing/editing and to be saved back to G.ho.st Drive
- Provide a full file system to the web application by offering full read/write access to the user’s G.ho.st Drive using Webdav
- Pass user preferences like language, font, etc. from G.ho.st to the third-party application
The API is designed to be very light weight with a simple convenient approach to launching third-party applications by a URL and passing data as parameters to that URL.
The API was also built to be completely technology agnostic; accepting any web application with any backend as long as it is launched in a web page through a URL.
These web applications have to be hosted at the web application developer’s own expense on any server or platform of their choice, as G.ho.st currently don’t provide any hosting for these third party applications. A special case exists for applications that can be compiled into a single file.
For more details on the API, check the G.ho.st API Page.