TopCube
Gives node developers a way to have a desktop GUI to their node servers using HTML5 + CSS3 as the GUI platform.
Assumes:
- Client/server architecture with communication over HTTP.
If you're interested in merged event loops, common javascript contexts, or other non-HTTP communication and resource sharing between the node process and the GUI take a look at node-webkit. - Single, HTML5 + CSS3 driven window.
The client window does not spawn popups, support tabs, create additional windows or add any native UI components other than what a typical browser pane would provide. - Child process.
The client window runs as a child process of the calling node process.
Implementation Details
Linux
Requires gtk2.0 and webkitgtk. Install the following packages on Debian/Ubuntu or the equivalents for your system to build topcube:
sudo apt-get install libgtk2.0-dev libwebkitgtk-dev
Windows
The windows client currently downloads a custom compiled binary client that uses the Chromium Embedded Framework. If you're interested in building the client yourself or making modifications see mapbox/cefclient.
Mac OS X
TODO. Work on a native webkit client for Mac OS X that can be built within topcube is certainly welcome.
API
Pass a single options object to topcube with the following properties:
urlof your running node application to point topcube at.nameof the window displayed in the titlebar. Also sets any window manager classes associated with the topcube window. On linux a.desktopfile using the same name can be used set the icon for your application.widthin pixels of the window. Optional.heightin pixels of the windows. Optional.minwidthin pixels. Restricts resizing the window width smaller than this value. Optional.minheightin pixels. Restricts resizing the window height smaller than this value. Optional.icofull path to a Windows.icofile to use for your application. Optional, no-op on non-windows platforms.
Example usage of topcube to wrap a default "Hello world" server.
var Http = require('http');
var TopCube = require('topcube');
Http.createServer(function (req, res) {
res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});
res.end('Hello World\n');
}).listen(7569);
TopCube({
url: 'http://localhost:7569',
name: 'My webapp',
width: 800,
height: 600
});