Windows has hta files. They are a bit like html files. They include html5 and javascript but they launch as desktop applications which are fully-trusted. (They use a file called mshta.exe found in the IE installed components in order to run.)
The great thing is you can port many web pages to desktop applications with just a few extra lines of code.
Info can be found here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/ms536496%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
Do the latest releases of Linux (and possibly apple mac desktops) have an equivalent of hta files?
If you are aiming to deliver HTML content you can take a much more flexible road: use a GUI framework with HTML capabilities like QT.
here there is a simple example about how to use webkit ( a rendering engine for the web ) to embed a fully working web browser in your GUI, and QT works under many desktop and mobile platforms.
You can try to use node webkit for this purpose.
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I want to create a new application (which I will sell) that uses web browser control to automatically post things on the internet etc.
I did some research, and it looks like the primary choice for most people is .NET webbrowser control (via an instance of IE).
I don't want to do this because I want customers that own a Mac and Linux to be able to use my software.
With that said, are there any web browser control classes or toolkits available that can work on all OSes (e.g. something that uses Java?)
Thanks in advance!
UPDATE:
Web browser control is basically the ability for a program to act like a human and open a web browser and go to websites, fill out forms, check email (lol) etc.
Firefox, Chrome, Safari. I think virutally everything but IE works on all the OS's. Not suprising really when you think it's made by microsoft.
Selenium libraries let you create scripts (with a GUI or one of the supported languages [it has got most of the popular ones like Java, Python etc.]) for browser automation on all popular browsers (including chrome, which works on all OSes like mentioned by other answers).
Here's the deal. I've animated + coded a variety of 'screensavers' in Actionscript3/Flash. They make extensive use of the timeline, AS3 code, the TweenLite library, and embedded fonts. That's the limit of my programming knowledge. I've tried, to no avail, to convert my .SWFs into screensaver files using a variety of software, such as InstantStorm. Somehow it never works, the code never executes properly, it's a disaster.
So, I'm wondering if it's possible to make a screensaver that simply contains an embedded browser, and have it point to my .SWF file, hosted on my web-server. Basically, imagine a full-screen website acting as a screensaver.
If this is possible, what is the EASIEST and FASTEST way for me to whip up a solution for both PCs and Macs? Language, etc. I'm hoping something that has a library I can simply draw from to embed the browser view :)
My startup is developing a product to do exactly this, it's called Screensaver Ninja and you can find it at https://Screensaver.Ninja.
You can set many different web pages with different timers. The configuration tool allows you log in and navigate to the page you want to display:
It uses WebKit, on Mac OS X it uses Safari's and on Windows it uses Chrome's and in both cases it has a separate session from any other browser installed on the computer.
Here's a small Windows-only solution:
https://github.com/cwc/web-page-screensaver/releases
You could modify this open-source one for the Mac so that it's hard-coded to your URL:
http://www.liquidx.net/blog/2010/11/13/webviewscreensaver-for-mac/
Modify hasConfigureSheet() to return NO and change the URL in kScreenSaverDefaultURL. And change the name!
Is there an application that lets you pack it with a bunch of html files and it will render them? Basically, I want an app that all it does is that it has an embedded browser, and I can pack it with my files. Is there such thing?
It would be nice if it was cross-platform or offered additional APIs.
My end goal is I wanna build an app that produces html and then compiles it and gives it to the user.
One solution is to use Opera Widgets, my app can build the html files, and then pack it as a desktop widget. But that requires user to have Opera installed. It would be nice if there was an embedded browser solution.
Try Adobe Air. It is basically a JS-heavy application packed in a platfrom-independent package. Also includes a WebKit-compatible browser.
May be less or more than what you need.
What technologies are used to power Quake Live?
Specifically, how do you create a web application that makes such extensive use of 3D in the browser? The service requires you to download and install a plug-in in order to play. How do you create such a plug-in, and how does it interact with the web site?
Browser programs are very simply, programs. They are given an interface to interact with the browser, but beyond that, they can do anything a normal native application can do, like use DirectX or OpenGL.
Internet Explorer registers plugins using ActiveX. Firefox, Chrome, Safari and most other browsers use Netscape's NSPlugin API.
The MDC has plenty of documentation on writing plugins for Firefox.
There is also a question on SO about writing plugins for IE.
I'm needing a webservice for capturing and entire website and export it to JPG or PNG.
I'm using Paparazzi on my mac, but I've a linux server and would like to that on linux.
Any idea? Do you know any webservice?
http://browsershots.org/
Is this the kind of capture you are looking for?
On linux I use screengrab for firefox.
Online you should try http://browsershots.org, it provides shots from many different browsers, I use it when I have to test the appearance of a page on different web browsers.