Should a traditional browser be the primary way to interact and navigate a web application? Some may say yes but people at Microsoft say no.

microsoft research Microsoft C3, the new Web Apps platform, which goes beyond the browser

News has it that an alternative, C3, is presently being developed at the Microsoft Research Facility, Redmond. C3, which may stand for ‘Cloud Computing Client’ will be an extensible platform for HTML-based applications where Microsoft Researchers call it “a new platform for HTML5 experimentation developed entirely in a type-safe, managed language”, specifically C#. Word of the existence of C3 emerged last November when researchers posted a technical paper, entitled “Verified Security for Browser Extensions.”

According to an anonymous developer, C3 will be an implementation of the HTML/JS/CSS platform designed for web client research and experimentation.C3 shall introduce novel extension points and generalizes existing ones, creating simpler and more powerful opportunities for customization.

In addition, C3’s typesafe, modular architecture shall lower the barrier to web and browser research.

Microsoft researchers intend to present the C3 at the WebApps’11 conference this June in Portland, Oregon.