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I read that new apps in Windows 8 will mainly be developed in HTML5 and Java-script. Those two languages are already supported in Ubuntu.

Hence, is it − or will it be − possible to run those apps in Ubuntu? How do I do that? Could you give me a practical example?

Or will it just be easier for developers to port their application to our platform? So will I have to wait for them to do the job?

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    HTML5 en Javascript are browser languages. They are not applications that work in gnome but in chromium or firefox.
    – Rinzwind
    Jan 22, 2012 at 19:15
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    @Rinzwind Well, since HTML5 and JavaScript is so powerful nowadays - quite a lot of development can actually be made in HTML and JavaScript and then packaged to desktop gadgets/applications (that's one way of making Gadgets in Win Vista/7). However, sometimes the packaging includes certain frameworks that is not standardized (for example IE specific instructions) and therefore might not be able to run per default on Linux.
    – sakjur
    Jan 22, 2012 at 19:59

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This is not exactly accurate. Only Metro apps may be written using HTML5/Javascript/CSS in Windows 8. Microsoft is presenting HTML5/Javascript/CSS as one of at least two supported technologies developers may base their Metro apps on. (another is C#-based apps). In both cases Metro apps will run sandboxed in a special environment and will make use of WinRT which is a proprietary set of APIs and the accompanying platform support framework that will be included with Windows 8.

You may always try to run 'classic' Windows applications using Wine, but at least initially, you should not expect any support for running Metro style apps in Ubuntu. Besides, most of these apps will be closer to widgets rather than full-fledged apps and there are several widget solutions for linux.

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    There are more than just these "two" technologies available for Metro-style apps.
    – BoltClock
    Jan 22, 2012 at 23:06
  • That is correct BoltClock. Metro apps can be written in several CLR-supported languages including C++ and Visual Basic, using XAML. In reality, as Microsoft plans to leverage its existing developer-base, the majority of Metro apps --- those not written in HTML/Javascript that is --- are most probably going to be written in C#/XAML. In any case, the support of CLR-languages does not change the fact that Metro apps won't be a possibilty in Ubuntu (or any linux distribution) in the foreseeable future.
    – cosmix
    Jan 23, 2012 at 0:01

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