Browsers will be one app class that works in both desktop and Metro modes in Windows 8, Mozilla has revealed.
Mozilla revealed last month it would release a beta of a Windows 8 version of the open source Firefox browser in the second half of the year.
As porting work begins, a Firefox developer has noted there's three classes of apps for Microsoft's next-gen Windows OS: desktop, Metro Style, and browsers that work across both UIs.
"Firefox will fall into the third category, meaning you can run Firefox as a desktop application, and you can run it as a Metro application," said Mozilla developer Brian Bondy in a blog post.
"Unlike Metro applications, Metro Style enabled desktop browsers have the ability to run outside of the Metro sandbox," he said. "Meaning not only can we build a browser, but we can build a powerful browser which gives an experience equal to that of a classic desktop browser."
He noted a browser must be set as the default browser for it to work across both UIs. "So if Firefox is not the default browser on a system, you can't use it in Metro mode," he said. "This is a decision made by Microsoft."
Questions remain
Bondy added he was unsure if the rival browser to Microsoft's Internet Explorer would be included in the Windows app store "since it is not of Metro application type".
Development work has already started on the Windows 8 version of Firefox, but Bondy suggested it was slow going because Microsoft had released little information about the special browser class of apps.
He added that it was too early in the development stages to work on UI or to know if Flash will be supported, as it's not allowed on the Metro version of IE10. "There may be some technical restrictions and we haven't decided one way or the other if we really want it," Bondy said.
Mozilla is set to release version 11 of the Firefox browser this week, featuring add-on syncing and easier migration from Google Chrome, after moving to a faster release cycle last year.
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