Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for installing software. In one aspect, a method includes receiving information regarding software elements, which form a software program, each of the software elements including one or more files, creating software element descriptors corresponding to the software elements, wherein each software element descriptor specifies the one or more files that are included in a respective software element, and generating a deployment package including the software element descriptors for installation of the software program, wherein each software element is separately addable and updatable in the software program, using a corresponding software element descriptor, after the software program has been installed on a computer.

Abstract: This specification describes technologies relating to a runtime library including a virtual file system. In general, a method can include interfacing with an operating system of a computer; and providing runtime services, including a virtual file system, to programs running on the computer. Providing runtime services can include receiving first information and second information through a single file access routine of an API for the virtual file system; determining a selected one of multiple file storage areas to access based on the first information, the multiple file storage areas including a first local area accessible by a first program and inaccessible by a second program, and a second area accessible by the first program and the second program; mapping the second information to file resource(s) in the selected file storage area in the virtual file system; and accessing the one or more file resources for the first program.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for managing an application execution environment on a computer. One or more aspects of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in one or more methods of managing an application execution environment, the one or more methods including: identifying which of multiple different versions of the application execution environment are installed on a computer; and managing the different versions of the application execution environment on the computer; wherein the identifying and the managing are performed using one or more of the different versions of the application execution environment.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for handing secure user interface content. In one aspect, a method includes receiving, at a data processing apparatus, content over a communication network from a computing system separate from the data processing apparatus; determining that the received content is authentic secure content; retrieving information stored at the data processing apparatus and previously selected by a user for purposes of securing user interface content; rendering the received content, to a display of the data processing apparatus, as a user interface with a visual wrapper, where the visual wrapper includes the retrieved information, visually separates the user interface from other visual elements on the display, and includes an indication that the user interface is secure; and processing input received through the user interface.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for abstracting data acquisition and management. One or more aspects of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in one or more methods including: providing a cross-platform application program interface for a software application that runs in an application execution environment running on a computing platform; receiving a request, through the cross-platform application program interface, from the software application for access to a real-time sensor device; and in response to the request, identifying which of multiple predetermined sensor devices is currently available, the identified sensor device being configured to provide real-time data, determining an interval based on information associated with the software application, and providing data derived from the identified sensor device to the software application in accordance with the interval.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus implementing systems and techniques for asynchronously loading and accessing structured data. A random access interface can be provided to structured data while that structured data is asynchronously and simultaneously being loaded from a data source. A document, such as an Extensible Markup Language document, can be sequentially parsed and loaded into memory, and a tree data structure interface to the entire document can be provided to a client before the entire document has been fully parsed. In general, in one implementation, the technique includes: parsing structured data in sequence to produce a data object model representing at least a portion of the structured data in a memory, and simultaneously providing, to a client, read and write random access to the structured data through the data object model in the memory as the data object model is being produced.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for tracking development and distribution of software applications. In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the actions of: identifying a software application available from a software application distribution system; retrieving at least image data from an image file, which is associated with the software application, from the software application distribution system without retrieving the software application; detecting a watermark in the image data; and storing information associating the detected watermark with the software application distribution system from which the identified software application is available.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for providing access to media content in multiple locations includes: storing media content in a system that has a memory and another storage; generating an object that represents the media content, the object including media content metadata and a media content reference configured to identify each of a memory location and a storage location; and making the object available to an application, the media content reference providing access to the stored media content at the memory location or at the storage location.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, create and use software installation packages including digital signatures.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for managing an application execution environment on a computer. One or more aspects of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in one or more methods of managing an application execution environment comprising a cross-platform application program interface to provide services to applications that run in the application execution environment, the one or more methods including: maintaining associations between the applications and different versions of the application execution environment installed on a computer, where the associations indicate in which of the different versions of the application execution environment the applications run; and managing the different versions of the application execution environment on the computer based on the associations between the applications and the different versions of the application execution environment in which the applications run.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for captive runtime deployment. In one aspect, a method performed by data processing apparatus employing a runtime environment includes accessing software code of a software application that relies on a runtime of the runtime environment to operate; selecting a proper subset of the runtime, including sharable library code, based on information associated with the software application; combining the software code and the proper subset of the runtime to form a computer program configured to effect the software application using a version of the runtime captive to the computer program, the captive version of the runtime including the proper subset of the runtime; and storing the computer program on a computer-readable medium coupled with a processor.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for software installation and process management support. In one aspect, a method includes obtaining application information for a software application and an application executable for the software application, the application executable including machine code native to a target platform having an operating system, wherein the application information includes application code that depends on a runtime environment on the target platform to operate; and installing the application executable on the target platform, wherein the application code includes a resource associated with the application executable that runs in the runtime environment when the application executable is run in the operating system, and wherein the operating system maintains and presents the software application as a native application, distinct from other applications that depend on the runtime environment to operate.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for managing an application execution environment on a computer. One or more aspects of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in one or more methods of managing an application execution environment, the one or more methods including: identifying different versions of the application execution environment installed on a computer; presenting a user interface configured to manage the different versions of the application execution environment, wherein the user interface includes an option to selectively uninstall one or more of the different versions of the application execution environment; and managing the different versions of the application execution environment on the computer as a single runtime environment program having the different versions bundled therein, based on input received via the user interface.

Abstract: In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in a system that includes a network-based information server system; and a computer operable to interact with a user interface device and operable to perform operations including: receiving from the network-based information server system status information corresponding to software applications, the status information including black-list information and phoenix-list information; updating a local cache, retained by the computer, with the status information received from the network-based information server system; generating an identifier for a software application, using a digital certificate and a hash value, when the software application is launched on the computer; checking the identifier for the software application against the status information; and notifying a user of the computer when a match is found during the checking.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implement techniques for performing digital signature operations on electronic content. An electronic document includes a digital signature module. The electronic document is accessed using a user application. The digital signature module is used to perform one or more digital signature operations on the electronic document in the user application.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for installing software, including application execution environments, on a computer.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for integrated native HTML rendering includes generating, in an application, an instruction to a native HTML renderer to render HTML content on a display device, the instruction generated using a runtime having an API that allows use of only at least one specified feature of the native HTML renderer. The method includes rendering, using the native HTML renderer, the HTML content on the display device per the instruction.

Abstract: This specification describes technologies relating to software installation. In general, a method of installing software can include obtaining application information for a software application to be installed on a target platform, the application information including an application name, an application icon, version information, and application code; obtaining a template executable including machine code native to the target platform; and adding the application information to the template executable to form an application executable for the software application.

Abstract: This specification describes technologies relating to software installation. In general, a method of installing software can include obtaining a first installation package distributed for installation on multiple different platforms, the first installation package including program content and package information, the package information including information stored in a platform independent format and useable in an installation sequence; converting the first installation package into a second installation package stored in a format native to a target platform, wherein the second, native installation package includes at least a portion of the program content and the information useable in the installation sequence; and initiating installation on the target platform with the second, native installation package.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, provide a technique for handling calls to native code in a managed code environment. In one aspect, a method includes the actions of: loading, in a managed code environment operating on one or more data processing apparatus, code of an application and code of an extension, wherein the loading includes loading the code of the extension into a first domain and loading the code of the application into a second domain, the first domain being different than the second domain; receiving, through an application program interface (API) of the managed code environment, a call to a function of native program code corresponding to an identified computing platform; allowing the call when the call arises from the first domain; and disallowing the call when the call arises from the second domain.