Chrome 31 Beta: Android Application Shortcuts, requestAutocomplete(), and PNaCl

This feature will be rolling out to Beta users in Android, Windows, and Chrome OS in the coming days. A Mac version will be included in a future release.

PNaCl on desktop versions of Chrome

Over the last few years, web applications have benefited tremendously from more powerful processors and faster browsers. For developers looking to improve performance even further, Portable Native Client (PNaCl) now offers the ability to execute native code in the browser. Developers can compile C/C++ code--even complex existing code bases--into a single executable that runs across all desktop versions of Chrome and Chrome OS, no user installation required. PNaCl combines the portability of the web with the performance of native code. For more information, check out gonacl.com.

New Chrome Apps APIs

With URL handlers for apps, Chrome App developers can now specify URLs to be handled by a Chrome App. For example, a document link on a website could open a document editor Chrome App. This gives users more seamless entry points into their favorite Chrome Apps.

Directory access for Apps allows Chrome Apps to access and write to user-approved folders. This feature can be used to share files between a Chrome App and a native app. For example, a Chrome App code editor could modify files managed by a native Git client. Check out the demo to see it in action.

Other new features in this release

• SCTP for WebRTC Data Channel allows P2P data transfers between browsers to be either best effort, reliable, or semi reliable, opening up use cases such as gaming.
• Alpha channel support for WebM video enables transparency masking (a.k.a. green screen effects) in WebM videos.
• Speech recognition with the JavaScript Web Speech API is now supported on Chrome for Android.
• window.devicePixelRatio now takes full-page zoom (but not pinch zoom) into account.
• Support for { alpha: false } in getContext('2d') lets you create an opaque canvas. This is similar to existing WebGL functionality and can improve the rendering performance of your app.
• The Media Source API has been unprefixed and is now supported on Chrome for Android. It allows JavaScript to generate media streams for playback, addressing use cases like adaptive streaming and time shifting live streams.
• 2D canvas now supports the "ellipse" method.
• Support for several Mutation Events has been removed. Consider using MutationObserver instead.

Visit chromestatus.com for a complete overview of Chrome’s developer features, and circle +Google Chrome Developers for more frequent updates. We hope you enjoy this Beta release as much as we’ve enjoyed working on it!

Posted by Dan Alcantara, Software Engineer and Screen Real Estate Agent