Welcome to HTML5 apps!

Ubuntu embraces HTML5 as a first-class app toolkit. While its support is constantly evolving and you can expect a lot of new things to come, most of the core parts are in good working order! So HTML5 developers can start making true HTML5 applications (as opposed to web pages) that fit right into the dazzling Ubuntu experience.

What is an HTML5 app?

HTML5 is traditionally for web pages. CSS provides styling and animations, and JavaScript provides logic and control. But now, these web technologies can be used to write apps for Ubuntu.

What is an Ubuntu HTML5 app?

It is written in HTML5, CSS and JavaScript and it runs in a web container. It is an app, just like any other Ubuntu app, integrated into Unity in all the usual ways. The web container provides access to a wide and growing set of JavaScript APIs the app can use. This includes Ubuntu platform APIs such as the Content Hub, Alarms and Online accounts and others not specific to Ubuntu, such as Cordova APIs, which provides access to system and device level functionality like the camera and the accelerometer.

Looks and feels like an Ubuntu app

An HTML5 app UI can be created with Ubuntu HTML5 widgets, like Tabs, Pages, Dialogs, Buttons, and more. When you declare these widgets in your HTML5 code, they are automatically styled by Ubuntu CSS, so they fit right in visually. This also includes a JavaScript runtime framework, which lets you control widgets using a convenient JS API.

In addition to Ubuntu-specific HTML declarations, the app can use standard HTML5. Since the Ubuntu CSS provides styling for most cases, even when using additional HTML5, the app still looks and feels like an Ubuntu app.

Ubuntu app design

Ubuntu puts design first and considers toolkits (HTML5, QML and others) as an implementation detail. It is design that makes an Ubuntu app look and feel like an Ubuntu app.

A good step before getting started writing Ubuntu HTML5 apps is looking at design section. You will find examples and guidance on using Ubuntu UI layouts and building blocks (from a toolkit agnostic viewpoint).

Questions?

There’s a lot to know, and fortunately the Ubuntu community is rich with sources of help and information. Here are a couple good places to visit:

• http://askubuntu.com, a very active site. Check out the list of already answered questions. Feel free to ask your own questions as well and make sure you use the HTML5 tag.
• Our app developer community, a great gathering place for people who share an interest in developing for Ubuntu and sharing knowledge!

Next steps

Guides

Be sure to check out our HTML5 guides and others, like those for the Ubuntu App Platform. These focused articles cover key topics of interest to app developers and are designed to give you a high level overview of critical topics. After reading the guides, understanding APIs and platform features is much easier.

Tutorials

Definitely check out the HTML5 tutorials. These give you detailed steps, examples and explanations that let you leap into productivity with Ubuntu HTML5 apps.

APIs

And of course, developers need the API Reference docs forHTML5/JavaScript. These provide the implementation-level detail you need make your HTML5 apps use the full sweet of platform APIs .