Starting Development for Google Chrome....Getting Started Issues!

Question

Our organization has decided that my project will be developed for internal use with the Google Chrome browser. So yesterday I started looking around the internet for just how I would go about doing that.

I found the WebKit.org development tool and have been trying to install it using the instructions found here: http://webkit.org/building/tools.html

I am installing on a Windows machine that does not have Visual Studio 2005, so following the directions I downloaded Visual C++ Express 2005. Now I am at:

Install the Windows Server 2003 R2 Platform SDK, then follow steps 2 and 3 of “How to: Use Visual C++ Express Edition with the Microsoft Platform SDK.”

Except I can't follow steps 2 and 3 because when I go to try and run the program all I have in the menu is: Start -> Programs -> Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition -> Visual Studio Tools -> Visual Studio 2005 Command Prompt

which opens a command prompt.

Can anyone tell me what I've done incorrectly?

Additionally, do you HAVE to develop in WebKit? Or is that just the best way to work with the Chrome engine?

Thanks! Leslie

Answer 1

Leslie,

I found this Google I/O talk to be useful as an intro.

Answer 2

step 2 and 3 are on Microsoft's web site referred in the building instructions. The steps describes steps you need to do after opening Visual C++. If you have only the command prompt in the Visual Studio start menu folder, reinstall your Visual C++ Express edition.

I don't think writing your own webkit-based browser satisfies your decision to use the Google Chrome browser. By the way. From your limited description of your requirement I don't see why it cannot be a B/S application. If you have too many C++ code to port to web, you can try host Google Chorme Frame as an ActiveX. I am not sure if this is the best approach for you, since it does not have any API documentation for developers.

Answer 3

Writing a browser based app could mean:

1. You run code (perhaps in .Net, Java, Ruby, PHP, Python, etc...) on a server with potentially Javascript, flash, etc... running in the browser. The browser communicates with the server through HTTP requests. If that is the case you certainly don't need to worry about installing webkit.

2. It could mean writing a Chrome extension which would again likely mean running .Net, Java, Ruby, Python, PHP, or some other language of your choice on the server and Javascript in the Chrome extension. Again in this case there is no need to install webkit.

3. It's possible it could mean writing an app based on webkit, but that would be replacing your old desktop app with another desktop app which doesn't seem likely. With this solution, you are no longer running Chrome, but your own custom made browser. Not to mention this seems like overkill for a jury management system.

I would guess you want to do option 1. That is typically what people mean by a browser based app. It would be a much better use of your time to read a book on web development than to fool around with webkit.

Answer 4

You should find the executable file to launch Visual Studio Express in this folder: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8.0\Common7\IDE\"

Answer 5

You shouldn't need to 'build chrome'

If you need anything special, the Chrome Extension framework is pretty awesome: http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/overview.html

But I imagine if you are moving from IE to Chrome, as a client for a webapp, things should just work.