Screencast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBzrCmGVDkA
Browser.html: an experimental Desktop browser, based on Firefox Desktop and Firefox OS. UI is built in HTML.
Setup
Install Firefox Nightly, then:
# Linux:
firefox -app $PWD/runtime/application.ini $PWD/apps/browser/manifest.webapp
# Mac:
open -n -a FirefoxNightly --args -app $PWD/runtime/application.ini $PWD/apps/browser/manifest.webapp
# Windows:
FIXME
Debugging
You can dubug application via WebIDE if you run an app with additional --debuger argument:
# Linux:
firefox -app $PWD/runtime/application.ini $PWD/apps/browser/manifest.webapp --debugger 6060
# Mac:
open -n -a FirefoxNightly --args -app $PWD/runtime/application.ini $PWD/apps/browser/manifest.webapp --debugger 6060
# Windows:
FIXME
Now you can connect with WebIDE to remote runtime on the port 6060.
Hacking
Frontend code is located in apps/browser. Cmd/Ctrl-Shift-R to reload
the whole browser (no restart required).
The App
Browser.html is a HTML app (like any B2G app). It is based on the
Browser API
and works the same way Gaia's browser and system apps work.
Even though it includes tags like vbox, hbox, spacer, …, it's all HTML
(see layout.css to see how they mimic xul layout).
Current priority is to re-implement the basic features of Firefox Desktop to make Browser.html a usable browser, and understand what's missing at the platform level for a perfect integration to the OS.
The Runtime
Browser.html requires a runtime. As for now, we use Firefox Nightly
and a wrapper (see runtime directory).
It uses a xul:window that loads the Browser.html app into an iframe. The
xul:window is still required to build a native window (draw in title bar,
support opening animations, native colors, …). Eventually, we want to kill
this window and bring these native features to HTML. This window is nothing
but a window with window controls (close, minimize, maximize).