Creating Applications with Mozilla

Description

Mozilla is not just a browser. Mozilla is also a framework that allows developers to create cross-platform applications. This framework is made up of JavaScript, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), and Mozilla's XUL (XML-based User-interface Language) as well as the Gecko rendering engine, XBL (eXtensible Binding Language), XPCOM (Mozilla's component model), and several other components.

Creating Applications with Mozilla explains how applications are created with Mozilla and provides step-by-step information about how you can create your own programs using Mozilla's powerful cross-platform development framework. This book also shows examples of many different types of existing applications to demonstrate some of the possibilities of Mozilla application development. One of Mozilla's biggest advantages for a developer is that Mozilla-based applications are cross-platform, meaning programs work the same on Windows as they do on Linux or the Mac OS.

Working through the book, you are introduced to the Mozilla development environment and after installing Mozilla, you quickly learn to create simple applications. After the initial satisfaction of developing your own portable applications, the book branches into topics on modular development and packaging your application. In order to build more complex applications, coverage of XUL, JavaScript, and CSS allow you to discover how to customize and build out your application shell. The second half of the book explores more advanced topics including UI enhancement, localization, and remote distribution.

Mozilla 1.0 was released on June 5th, 2002, after more than four years of development as an open source project. This book has been written so that all of the information and examples will work with this release and any of the 1.0.x maintenance releases. In addition to Netscape's Mozilla-based browsers (Netscape 6.x and 7.x), the Mozilla framework has been used to create other browsers such as Galeon and Chimera, and chat clients such as ChatZilla and JabberZilla. Developers have also used Mozilla to create games, development tools, browser enhancements, as well as all sorts of other types of applications.

CONTENTS:

Preface

1. Mozilla as Platform
      Visualizing Mozilla's Front End
      Setting Up Your System
      Mozilla Applications

2. Getting Started
      Simple XUL Example
      Basic XUL Concepts
      Making Mozilla Work for You
      Displaying XUL Files as Chrome
      Creating a Package
      Launching the Application

3. XUL Elements and Features
      The XUL Document Object
      Application Windows
      Application Widgets
      Tabular and Hierarchical Information
      Words and Pictures
      Form Controls
      Widget Interaction
      Content Panels
      The Box Model
      XUL Attributes
      Overlays
      The Extras
      Building the Application Shell

4. CSS in Mozilla Applications
      Interface Basics
      Introduction to CSS in Mozilla
      Mozilla Skins
      Creating New Skins
      What Is Possible in a Skin?

5. Scripting Mozilla
      Faces of JavaScript in Mozilla
      JavaScript and the DOM
      Adding Scripts to the UI
      XPConnect and Scriptable Components
      JavaScript Application Code

6. Packaging and Installing Applications
      Packaging and Installing Overview
      Packaging Mozilla Applications
      Installing Mozilla Applications
      Finishing Things Up
      Extra Tricks for Customizing an Application

7. Extending the UI with XBL
      What Is XBL?
      Anatomy of a Binding
      Adding Behavior to Bindings
      XBL and the DOM
      Inheritance
      Event Handling
      Resources for Bindings

8. XPCOM
      What Is XPCOM?
      Creating XPCOM Components

9. XUL Templates
      Understanding XUL Templates
      Enhancing XUL Templates
      Using Other XUL Tags for Templates

10. RDF, RDF Tools, and the Content Model
      RDF Basics
      The Mozilla Content Model
      RDF Components and Interfaces
      Template Dynamics
      JSLib RDF Files
      Manifests

11. Localization
      Localization Basics
      DTD Entities
      String Bundles
      Programming and Localization
      The Chrome Registry and Locale
      Localization Issues

12. Remote Applications
      Directions in Remote Application Development
      Basic Remote Application Example
      Setting Up XPFE for Remote Applications
      Generated Content
      Certificate Authorities and Digital Signatures
      Creating Signed Remote Applications
      Expanded Privileges in Mozilla
      Signed Remote Snake Game
      Mozilla's XML Extras and SOAP
      Looking Forward

A. Getting and Building the Mozilla Source

B. Development Tools

C. Programmer's Reference

Index