I am sure after WebAssembly Post-MVP, asm.js will be deprecated. Even now, a few existing asm.js projects already start to use WebAssembly. JS engine (V8) also starts to comiple asm.js to WebAssembly, so even if old projects never migrate, end-users will still get partial advantages from WebAssembly.
My question is, what about native-client then? It is not implemented in JS engine so that can be a problem. Native-client seems to be deprecated even now. Will native-client be completely removed from Chrome in foreseeable future? I would love to see some reduction in binary size of Chrome.
Side questions:
After thread/gc/simd/exception are included in WebAssembly, is there still something native-client has but missing in WebAssembly (blocking migration)?
It took WebAssembly about 2 years just to reach MVP, what is the expected time for any one of the Post-MVP to get finalized?
It seems like WebAssembly group is tackling multiple Post-MVP features at once instead of one by one, won't that make it slower to finalize one of them?
Answering the side-questions only, because I no longer work on Native Client. Google's plans are its own to speak for, so I'll make this a wiki.
Update as of 2017/05/20 NaCl isn't in glibc. This was the original libc which was supported, and took quite a while to clean up and upstream. It was only ever supported by NaCl's GCC toolchain. There's still support for musl libc, which works with the more up-to-date LLVM-based NaCl and PNaCl toolchain.
Update as of 2017/05/30 the Chromium team announced the fate of PNaCl and tentative roadmap of WebAssembly features.
Here are some Native Client features which you haven't mentioned:
Out-of-process, which many consider a bug because it forces asynchronous communication. It allows guaranteed address space, which with 64-bit isn't much of an upside, and was critical to Native Client's double-sandbox design. WebAssembly doesn't have processes yet.
Has blocking to and from the JavaScript event loop, through postMessageAndAwaitResponse. Also seen as a bug by many.
Has many APIs through Pepper. Many mirror the web platform's APIs.
Can do memory protection through mprotect (though execute pages are limited).
POSIX signals can be handled.
Supports computed goto and other irreducible control flow.
Has some Just-in-Time code patching support.
Supports weaker than seq_cst atomics.
Has support for inline assembly, as long as it follows the NaCl validation rules.
Not all of these are in Portable Native Client, though. There's official documentation of differences.
There's no timeline for any of the post-MVP WebAssembly features. We don't want to rush anything, but we want to deliver one the most useful things first. It's a community group, so priorities are really driven by whoever gets involved. Implementations won't be able to tackle features all at once, but exploration parallelizes well.
(I have a problem with Google Chrome improvements that will drop support for my current solutions.)
I work on project where I move desktop system to an Intranet web application.
The crucial requirements are:
to move desktop system to a web application
to reproduce every single functionality from the desktop system in the webapp
While 95% of work requires creating casual web application, there is one thing which is non-standard to handle: my application must perform some actions on the client computer. These includes:
connecting with libraries
launching desktop apps
file manipulation in background
The example scenario is to integrate my system with some machine in the lab. I have to integrate my web application with drivers on client computer via DLL (desktop app did this, so my app have to do this as well).
Theoretically scenarios of the desktop actions may vary and I just want to implement some interface that will handle all the "client-machine" job the desktop app has done, so there is no need to work on every single scenario (but of course every scenario should be tested).
My solution was Java Applet. It worked. But then Google Chrome decided to drop support for NPAPI plugins, so in September'15 Java plugin (and my applet) won't be supported (http://blog.chromium.org/2014/11/the-final-countdown-for-npapi.html).
So my another solution is Java Web Start. It works. But now Google Chrome decided to drop support for background operations of external protocols (https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=348640), so from Google Chrome 45 my Java Web Start solution won't be supported.
(Both above solutions work on Firefox and IE.)
The question:
What other technology can I use to interact with a client machine from my web app?
Other remarks:
I am reluctunt to write my own PPAPI plugin or Chrome Extension - I prefer one solution working on all major browsers.
I know that StackOverflow community does not like discussions about technologies, so please focus on describing possible solution to my problem.
We struggled with a similar problem as we need to connect/access electronic devices over JNI->DLL. The only technology where this is currently possible are applets. Period. (And even that is tricky since certain combinations of browsers/java versions/operating systems do not work or have problems, but this is another story...)
There are web technologies like HTLM5, JScript which can replace some functionalities of applets however in certain scenarios (like yours) there is no current alternative available - and you named some of those:
connecting with libraries like *.dll, *.so etc.
file manipulations
launching applications
And doing that across browsers and operating systems!
Solutions?
Tell your users that certain browsers can't be used (like Chrome and
Opera Next)
Write individual plugins for each browser (which probably is beyond your budget ;-)
Did you consider writing standalone application(s) in form of an executable file? The user must download and run it however e.g. java or plugins also need to be installed. But then there is the security aspect of that (downloading an and executing an executable file) - certainly not an easy decision
Have a look at FireBreath 2 - (just read about it in some posts, however didn't try it)
There are lots of discussions on SO to this topic so take a read:
alternative technologies to replace applets
applet alternative launch from browser
alternatives to java applet to launch microsoft office applications
alternative-java-applet-network-drive-access
what are the alternatives for java applet to launch client programs using chrome
alternative of npapi plugins for flash java applet
python alternative to java applet
npapi alternative for live file editing
... and many, many more!
I am completely new to mobile development and i interested to hybrid apps and of course Intel XDK. When i reading Intel XDK's documentations i faced to "runtime" word.
What is mean of this phrase and actually what is it's mean when they saying
Crosswalk is a HTML5 runtime, ...
in their blog post.
Apologize me if I asking one of stackoverflow's stupid questions.
"Runtime" generally refers to the time a program runs, as opposed to other times in the programs life cycle like compile time. Software is typically written, then compiled, then deployed or installed, then run. These different phases are often referred to as "compile time", "install time" and "runtime". E.g. "at compile time, the compiler will ...".
"A runtime" is a software package that is necessary at, well, runtime. E.g. a library, interpreter, virtual machine or other such supporting packages. Crosswalk is a system that takes in HTML 5 "apps" (including HTML, Javascript etc.) and, well, makes them work. Executes them. Runs them. It's essentially a browser engine, but not packaged as a browser, just as a system that can interpret and run HTML 5, which you can embed into whatever other software you want.
So you could write your application in HTML 5; then to make that work like a native desktop application which can be downloaded and installed, you write a tiny Windows application and an OS X application which basically just contains Crosswalk, which runs your actual application inside it, cross-platform.
Run-time - the length of time it takes to execute a software program
The Intel XDK includes the Crosswalk runtime as a supported target of the cloud-based build service.
Crosswalk runtime can be used for creating HTML5 application with a dedicated runtime that can be run on multiple platforms without any dependency for webview. It can be used for creating application that uses HTML5 features like WebRTC, hardware-accelerated WebGL support and bleeding edge HTML5 features.
For more information please follow this resources..
crosswalk-runtime
more resources : Using the Intel XDK “Crosswalk for Android”
Now that TideSDK is effectively dead, I've been looking into alternative 'wrappers' to run HTML/CSS/JS applications as stand-alone desktop applications. The three viable options I have run across so far, are NW.js (formerly node-webkit), brackets-shell, and Electron (formerly atom-shell).
The problem is that there does not appear to be a sufficiently complete comparison between the three in terms of feature set, compatibility, etc. I'm hoping to turn this into a more-or-less canonical thread on the (objective) differences between the three, in particular regarding:
Platform support; operating systems, dependencies, etc.
Language feature support, as far as HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript are concerned. Think things like "does HTML5 video work, and if yes, what codecs are available?"
Non-standard extra features, such as tray icons, popup notifications, and OS-rendered menu bars.
Extensibility; eg. ability to 'plug in' native code, talk to Node.js, and so on.
Architecture; in particular the architectural differences that affect daily usage as a developer.
Debugging; included development tools, compatibility with commonly used tools like node-inspector, etc.
... and so on.
What are the objective, technical differences that matter when making a choice between them as an application developer?
I did similar research about two months ago, and in the end I went with node-webkit. The biggest upside on node-webkit is node.js and npm. The package management of npm is really nice, and node has well done filesystem access.
Brackets-shell looked interesting, but other than a nice IDE I didn't really get what made this one as good or better than the rest. They are very clear that "The brackets-shell is only maintained for use by the Brackets project ", that screams run away to me.
https://github.com/adobe/brackets-shell#overview
Atom-shell seems to be recently active, but it seems much like brackets in that they are really writing and editor/IDE that just happens to be attached to a webkit runtime. It also is built on top of node.js. This one has the downside of being difficult to search for stuff online without being reminded of your middle school chemistry.
I really don't want an new editor, and most programmers have their favorite already. For the actual application development, they pretty much work the same, and should, since they all use webkit. You basically write 90-95% of it like a website, and then deal with the native parts, and some config.
These things are true for all three of them
platforms - runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux
language support - HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript : since they run javascript you can download and run nearly any library/framework that you want.
The big caveat on webkit is codec support. Typically you will have problems with non-free video codecs, unless you rebuild the dll/so to support them. For example the shipped node-webkit won't play mp4 video.
I've been playing with Atom-Shell over the last few days, and I am loving it so far.
The best part about it is that it's backed by GitHub.. which should allow you to settle into the platform for the long term, especially if it gains a large following. It's also made possible by direct Node.js improvements courtesy of a contract with StrongLoop, who is a major Node.js contributor (they claim to employ more Node.js core developers than any other company, even Joyent).
I've also found it rather comfortable to get started. It took me about a day to learn the structure and get my first proof of concept running. Very cool.
Bullet Points:
Platform support: Windows, Linux, Mac OSX (More Info Here)
Language feature support: HTML5, CSS3, JS via Chromium - so far, zero issues, but I have not tested video specifically.
Native Features: Native App Menus, Task Tray Support, Global Hotkeys, Protocol Handler Support (that I've seen so far)
Extensibility: Excellent Node.js integration, both the client and server can "require" Node.js modules and natives. I've also successfully tested Bower libraries (incl jQuery) without issue.
Architecture: Covered in the other points, but in general its very smooth.
Update (11/25/14): I've not yet found use case for Atom-Shell in any official capacity, but I have used it to build a few small apps for my own use, the most complex being an app that pulls my time logs from my PM software and creates Paypal invoices.
My opinion of the platform remains positive. It's pretty awesome.
On my time invoicing app I successfully brought in Bootstrap 3's Dashboard Example Template and a few node modules (bluebird, Paypal SDK, Teamwork PM Client) to create a mildly complex app. It took me a few days and does its job well.
I really cannot think of anything negative to say about Atom-Shell, its solid, stable, fast, and easy to code for. I hope this helps someone.
Besides fully support Web standards, NW.js supports a list of non-standard features for native app development including:
Protect JS source code by compiling them into machine code: https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/Protect-JavaScript-source-code-with-v8-snapshot
Jailed devtools: https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/Devtools-jail-feature
Additional security model with which you can do more in DOM: https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/Security https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/Changes-to-DOM
enhanced file dialog: https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/File-dialogs
kiosk mode: https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/The-Kiosk-mode
supports for a growing list of chrome.* API, include chrome.webRequest so you can intercept HTTP requests from DOM: https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/issues/518
support for rich notifications, print preview, many more chrome.* APIs, Chrome Apps and other Chromium features starting from 0.13.0-alpha0
There is much more to see in the wiki including Menu, Tray, etc.
I've been working with brackets-shell for some time now, here are some of my findings:
brackets-shell is primarily developed as a shell under the brackets IDE project, but the project can run any web application. You just need to point it to your own html page. Clint Berry wrote an excellent tutorial about doing just this: http://clintberry.com/2013/html5-desktop-apps-with-brackets-shell/
The project is backed by Adobe and has a lot of activity
Documentation could be better
platform support They support Windows, Mac and Linux. An installer package can also be created. I only tested it on Win and Mac, it works great.
feature support html5, css3, js. Html5 video does not work out of the box, but is very easy to enable (by default the ffmpegsumo.dll is not copied into the installer, if you change the script to copy it it will work).
native features menu bar, 'open file with', file system access. I am not using any of these, as all I need is the communication with the node process.
extensibility a nodejs is built in, and you can communicate with node from your web application. In this way, you can use node to access the filesystem etc.
architecture The project is well set up, keeping a nice separation between the shell project and your own web app running inside it. In your own application, a global appshell object is available which gives you access to the brackets functionality (filesystem access, communication with node process, ...).
One thing to note (if you care), is that the Electron officially does not support Windows Vista. Vista's market share is about halfway between OSX 10.9 and 10.10 (both of which are fully supported by Electron). Vista is also still supported by Microsoft until 2017.
NW.js works fine in Vista, as well as OSX 10.9+. NW.js works on Ubuntu, Debian, Zorin, Manjaro, Arch, and most other Debian based Linux OS's. Electron has refused PR's to fix Ubuntu specific bugs on their platform which is concerning.
NW.js works in XP too. Currently 18% of the market is still on XP. So if you're desktop application is more general purpose or wants to have access to the late adopters still on XP, you're probably better off with NW.js (0.14.7) as Electron only supports Win 7 and up.
If you use NW.js 0.12.3 you can also support OSX 10.6+ and very old versions of Debian based Linux OS's like Ubuntu, and Win XP+. It is recommended that you do special builds just for those legacy systems though and use the newer versions of NW.js for newer OS's.
I'm trying to make a HTML5 word-game that should eventually be wrapped into an app for Android and iOS.
For now, I only tried Phonegap / Cordova to build the app, but it is VERY slow on my 2-year old Android 2.3.3 phone. Operations (like indexing the dictionary file or finding all words that start with a certain prefix) that take only 100ms in Chrome on my desktop, take up to 2 SECONDS on my phone. I know this is because Phonegap uses the Android Browser, which is very slow on 2.3.3.
So, what are my options now? I want this app to be able to run smoothly on Android 2.3.3.
I read about CocoonJS, Trigger.io and appMobi (now Intel SDK).
I know these techniques can improve canvas performance, but will they let my Javascript run faster too ?
Maybe there are other solutions that really compile the Javascript into native code?
Or some HTML5 wrapper that I'm unaware of that includes a version of Chromium instead of using the Android Browser?
With CocoonJS your app will run under a optimized engine so your app will run significantly faster, still they recommend some Javascript good practises for performance optimizing that you should take care of them. The point is to help JavaScript compiler following some coding rules.
Here you have some slides done by #mortimergoro of the engineering team of Ludei that explain the behavior of JavaScript compiler:
http://goo.gl/0RdhIY