title: Chrome Extensions with background scripts instead of background pages?
body: <p>I recently started learning about Chrome Extensions and was taking a look at the sample code to get a feel for how all the different parts fit together.  I see that the logic behind the extensions are handled mostly in the background pages, but in looking at the following sample code I noticed something peculiar.</p>
  
  <pre><code>{
    "name": "Notification Demo",
    "version": "1",
    "description":
       "Shows off desktop notifications, which are \"toast\" windows that pop up on the desktop.",
    "icons": {"16": "16.png", "48": "48.png", "128": "128.png"},
    "permissions": ["tabs", "notifications"],
    "options_page": "options.html",
    "background": { "scripts": ["background.js"] },
    "content_security_policy": "script-src 'self'; img-src 'self'"
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>There's no "background_page" here but instead a "background" element.  I know there's a setting in the "permissions" that allows chrome to run in the background even when it isn't open but this appears to be something different.  It seems like it's possible to use a background script instead of a page but when I try to search for information about this I come up with nothing.  Has anyone seen or used this before and can you give a brief description of what the advantage would be to using a background script over a background page?</p>