Bridging the native app gap with Project Fugu

Project Fugu is a collaborative initiative by Microsoft, Intel, and Google aimed at bridging the functionality gap between native mobile and desktop applications and web applications by introducing new web APIs. This effort seeks to enable web developers to access native device functionalities, like contact lists or file systems, through web apps without compromising security, privacy, and trust. Project Fugu presents APIs such as the Badging API for app notifications, the File System Access API for reading and writing local files, and the Contact Picker API for accessing contact lists, though some are still in the experimental phase or limited to specific browsers. This project symbolizes a significant step toward making web applications as capable and versatile as native apps, allowing developers to use familiar web technologies to create rich user experiences. The metaphorical name "Fugu," derived from a delicacy that is both delicious and potentially deadly, reflects the power and risk of extending such native capabilities to the web.