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How do you use AIR's WebKit/htmlloader?

Adobe Employee ,
Jun 10, 2014 Jun 10, 2014

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Hi everyone,

A long standing issue in AIR has been the inclusion of an older version of WebKit.  The request to update this library has come up many times in the forum and is in the top 10 on the community driven Uplist feature page.  As with the recent and ongoing physics discussion, we're not committing to any changes purposed below at this time,  as we're purely in an investigation mode at this time.  We realize that this is an important feature and we need further clarification on what you're looking for.  Please read on for questions from our development team.

We are exploring updating WebKit, but due to our modification of the WebKit source, this will be difficult, and updating WebKit will change the HTML DOM, possibly breaking content authored for our existing DOM.

So we are also exploring leaving HTMLLoader alone, for now, but providing a reasonable alternative.

StageWebView was originally written as a replacement for HTMLLoader on mobile (because we could not use our WebKit on mobile, StageWebView took advantage of the browser provided by the platform).

But it was extended to the desktop as an unsuccessful solution to this problem.

On mobile, content was probably newly written (so it could be tested with StageWebView), and the browsers were similar enough to our WebKit that the DOM impact was minor.

But on the desktop, forcing older content written for our WebKit to run on Internet Explorer 8 (as an example) was a disaster due to the differences in the DOM’s. We resolved this by making HTMLLoader versus StageWebView on the desktop a choice.

Which gets to the questions (for desktop development only).

Which is more attractive, an embedded web browser or using the system browser? Is it valuable to provide both?

For instance, using the native browser can save on code size (perhaps 6 MB), but you must create and test portable HTML, and you face the risk that future updates to the system browser breaks your content.

How much interop do you need between AS and JS?

Hearsay suggests another problem with StageWebView is there is no interop between ActionScript and JavaScript, whereas HTMLLoader had a lot of support.

Would StageWebView be sufficient if it exposed an ExternalInterface, or sandbox bridge, level of functionality? For instance, if AS could register a list of functions which could be called from JS (and vice versa), would that be enough? Or is there something else that HTMLLoader does that is essential?

For instance, one of the ideas being explored is to provide an entirely new class (perhaps as an ANE) which links an unmodified version of the latest WebKit source as a static library. By using unmodified source, we can more readily update to newer versions of WebKit.  As well, if we leave the existing classes unchanged, we don’t risk breaking existing content. But if we use unmodified WebKit source, we may find some of HTMLLoader’s functionality impossible to match, which is why I’m interested in understanding the essential functionality, so we can decide if a sufficient, minimal (so it’s easier to support without customizing Webkit) interface for it.

Thanks,

Chris

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replies 155 Replies 155
Explorer ,
Mar 31, 2017 Mar 31, 2017

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This question has been open for a long time.

Any progress on this topic?

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Community Beginner ,
May 31, 2017 May 31, 2017

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Yes, here is the answer:

Native WebView AIR Native Extension by distriqt — Kickstarter

I`m just evaluating if we need the full source code license.

Let´s make it happen!!

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Guest
Nov 10, 2017 Nov 10, 2017

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I need a new HTMLLoader that actually works with HTML5 code. Will HTMLLoader ever be fixed. The only features I need are ability to run newer HTML5/JS/CSS style code & an AS to JS bridge. Executing JS from AS and getting a returned value should be good enough for me. Executing AS from JS is probably a good feature as well but not as important as calling JS from AS.

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Engaged ,
Nov 11, 2017 Nov 11, 2017

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brianm74259883  wrote

The only features I need are ability to run newer HTML5/JS/CSS style code & an AS to JS bridge.

So a complete modern browser running inside AIR then....

This project is mature and used by many.

GitHub - tuarua/WebViewANE: WebView Adobe Air Native Extension for OSX 10.10+, Windows Desktop, iOS ...

caiocanalli​

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 24, 2017 Nov 24, 2017

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Are there really people here who haven't switched to Electron? Adobe abandoned HTML for AIR a long time ago. If you want to distribute desktop apps using HTML5, Electron is really the way to go.

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New Here ,
Jan 30, 2019 Jan 30, 2019

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LATEST

I continue to upload my flash application online through adobe air htmlLoader today 2019

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