rApps

rApps is a class of modular software applications designed for rapid development and deployment across distributed environments, including cloud, edge, and mobile devices. Built from small, focused components, rApps emphasize portability, interoperability, and lifecycle efficiency. They are packaged with a runtime that provides isolation, configuration, and lifecycle management, enabling consistent behavior across diverse platforms.

Conceptually, an rApp consists of one or more components, typically microservices or plugins, plus a declarative manifest that describes dependencies, required resources, and the interfaces it exports. rApps are designed to be packaged in portable bundles and run in lightweight runtimes or containers. They rely on standard APIs and data formats to communicate and integrate with other apps and services, supporting API gateways, service discovery, and observability.

Development and deployment: teams define an rApp manifest, implement components, test in a sandbox, package into an rApp bundle, and publish to a registry. Deployment is driven by orchestrators or CD pipelines, enabling auto-scaling, rolling updates, and rollbacks. The model supports offline or intermittent connectivity scenarios, with synchronization when a connection is available.

Security and governance: rApps emphasize least-privilege execution, strong authentication and authorization, and encrypted data in transit and at rest. Governance may include versioning, dependency checking, and policy-based controls to prevent incompatible or insecure combinations of components. Interoperability is a core goal, with guidelines to avoid vendor-specific dependencies and to preserve portability.

rApps are used in enterprise application modernization, edge computing, and cross-platform software ecosystems to facilitate rapid iteration, modular reuse, and consistent deployment patterns.