commit 306753e9a4a83702a4a320325e7f350fac605dea
parent a5688c2f81b279392f1afd4c6c33664d16cf0589
Author: amrutha95 <amrutha.srinivasan95@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2020 13:03:31 -0700
Added PWA support spec (#563)
* Added PWA support spec
* Fixed typos
* Update and rename #194 - PWA Support.md to #164 - PWA Support.md
* Changed ManifestVersion to root level
* Update #164 - PWA Support.md
* Changed publisher name
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1 file changed, 123 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/specs/#164 - PWA Support.md b/doc/specs/#164 - PWA Support.md
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+---
+author: Amrutha Srinivasan @amrutha95
+created on: 2020-08-19
+last updated: 2020-08-19
+issue id: 164
+---
+
+# Spec Title
+
+For [#164](https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/issues/164)
+
+## Abstract
+
+This feature adds PWA (Progressive Web Application) support to winget. The goal is to allow users to install and maintain PWAs just like they would any other type of application on winget. As a first step, this would be available as an "experimental" feature to make it available to the community and receive feedback.
+
+## Inspiration
+
+PWA adoption is extremely important in the Windows app ecosystem. It is also crucial that they are treated as first class citizens in the app ecosystem, just like any native application. Providing PWA support for winget is key to achieving this goal.
+
+## Solution Design
+
+### System requirements
+
+Windows 10 v2004 or newer
+Edge latest Canary build
+
+### PWA YAML manifest
+
+The "InstallerType" field in the YAML manifest file specifies the type of the application. A new InstallerType "PWA" will be added to show that a given application is a PWA.
+
+Each PWA would have its own manifest YAML file. A sample manifest file would look like this:
+
+```
+Id: FinancialTimesLimited.FinTimes
+Version: 1.0.0.0
+Name: AppInstaller FinTimes
+Publisher: Financial Times Limited
+AppMoniker: fintimes
+License: Test
+InstallerType: PWA
+MinOSVersion: 10.0.19041.0
+Installers:
+- Arch: x64
+ Url: https://app.ft.com
+ InstallerType: PWA
+ManifestVersion: 0.1.0
+```
+
+### Package generation
+
+A POST call is made to a web service (https://pwabuilder-win-chromium-platform.centralus.cloudapp.azure.com) with a JSON body containing the URL to the PWA. The web service packages the PWA and its assets into an unsigned MSIX. An example of the JSON body would be :
+
+```
+{
+ "url": "https://app.ft.com"
+}
+```
+
+There are many more optional parameters that can be passed to this service. For more information, refer to the test website linked in the Resources section.
+
+### Package installation
+
+The unsigned MSIX package and any other dependency packages are added for the current user and the application is silently installed on the user's system. The installation is done by calling the Windows API AddPackageByUriAsync() using the specific deployment options that allow unsigned packages.
+
+### Flow of the install process
+
+1. User types the install command, eg. `winget install fintimes` (For the experimental version, the manifest will be passed as an argument)
+2. The URL from the manifest YAML file of the Financial Times PWA will be sent as a POST request to an internal web service that will generate an unsigned MSIX package. This MSIX package is downloaded onto the user's system.
+3. The generated package will then be silently installed as a Hosted App (Refer to resources for more on the Hostel App Model).
+4. The MSIX file is removed from the user's system.
+
+## UI/UX Design
+
+Installing a PWA will be similar to installing other application types currently supported by winget, using the install command. The only difference in experience might be if the user passes a -i flag to get a more interactive experience. When this flag is passed, the user will be prompted to allow the PWA to be launched on install. This feature is provided because in order to register a PWA with Edge, it has to be launched once.
+
+An example of the interactive install would look like this:
+
+```
+>winget install -i fintimes
+Found Financial Times [PWAtest.FinTimes]
+This application is licensed to you by its owner.
+Microsoft is not responsible for, nor does it grant any licenses to, third-party packages.
+Starting package install...
+<Progress bar>
+Succesfully installed! Launching app now. This is a necessary step to complete installation.
+(App launches on Edge)
+```
+
+## Capabilities
+
+### Accessibility
+
+This should have no direct impact on accessibility.
+
+### Security
+
+No direct impact on security.
+
+### Reliability
+
+This is not expected to impact reliability.
+
+### Compatibility
+
+This is an additional functionality built on top of the existing implementation to allow the install of PWAs. Therefore we don't anticipate any breaking changes to the existing implementation.
+
+### Performance, Power, and Efficiency
+
+## Potential Issues
+
+If the user navigates to the site before launching the installed PWA at least once (i.e. before registration with Edge), Edge might prompt them to install the PWA again.
+
+## Future considerations
+
+1. We are looking into where the catalog of PWAs should exist, and the pros and cons of maintaining a separate catalog vs including PWAs on the existing catalog.
+2. We're testing this new integration technology with Edge first in 2020 and hope to have this debugged and contributed to the Chromium project early 2021.
+3. Sometimes there may be multiple versions of a PWA available. In such scenarios, we may allow a "force" option in the case where a user wants all of them to be installed.
+4. There will be a service developed in the future that updates all the PWA manifests whenever there is a breaking change in Edge or in the web service that generates MSIX packages.
+
+## Resources
+
+Hosted App Model : https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2020/03/19/hosted-app-model/
+Test Website for generating MSIX for PWA : https://pwabuilder-win-chromium-platform.centralus.cloudapp.azure.com/
