This is not possible at all. Browsers are separate from the Desktop and code run inside of one shouldn't be able to interact with anything outside of the browser.
Aaron Harun
2010-07-07 00:40:26
views:
106answers:
4
+1
A:
that's not quite true. It's not possible "currently", but there's no technical reason why a browser couldn't provide a proprietary API for this, using non standard html/css/js
andy
2010-07-07 00:44:46
When code is able to run outside the browser, we call those security holes. Look at all the trouble Active X has caused? But, he isn't asking for theoretical possibilities, and I seriously doubt the Chrome or Mozilla FF teams are going to create such unsecure additions to their products.
Aaron Harun
2010-07-07 00:47:07
I'm just given technical context to the question. Of course noone's ever going to implement this, but I'm saying it's technically possible. Also, doing this would not break the sandbox model. The browser itself (forget an API for a second) could implement transparency any way it wanted. Once it that it could hook it up to it's Javascript engine, and create a stupid call: Chrome.Element("").WeirdTransparency().
andy
2010-07-07 00:52:17
+2
A:
This is not possible "currently", but there's no technical reason why a browser couldn't provide a proprietary API for this, using non standard html/css/js.
However, that's what it would take, a browser to actually implement this functionality and then expose it as an API, and even then it would be browser specific.
UPDATE (as some people have perhaps misunderstood my answer???):
I'm giving technical context to the question. Of course noone's ever going to implement this, but I'm saying it's technically possible.
Also, doing this would not break the sandbox model. The browser itself (forget an API for a second) could implement transparency any way it wanted. Once it that it could hook it up to it's Javascript engine, and create a stupid call: Chrome.Element("").WeirdTransparency()
UPDATE to Questioner's Update:
to your point:
The reason why would I like it is that I want to build a cross-platform (Linux, Windows, Mac), zero-install, fancy-looking rich client application (not meant to be served as an Internet website)
AIR kinda covers 90% or your requirements. It still needs a small install, but apart from that, you're running...
andy
2010-07-07 00:46:38
the technical reason would be that it's not standards compliant.
rockinthesixstring
2010-07-07 00:51:11
another technical reason was mentioned by @alex above "Imagine what spammers would do if they could display their fake alert box over your desktop... "Windows has detected a Virus - Click OK to remove" :P"
rockinthesixstring
2010-07-07 00:52:56
that's not a technical reason. Being standards compliant does not "define" a browser
andy
2010-07-07 00:53:08
If firefox implemented this feature, I would stop using it immediately.
rockinthesixstring
2010-07-07 01:01:53
@andy What if someone says "how do I put a GET param in a SQL query"? Are we supposed to tell them how to do it technically, or tell them about SQL injection and why it is a bad idea?
alex
2010-07-07 01:17:21
@alex... I suppose we could "answer" the question AND comment the hell out of it to warn them to say the frig away ;-)
rockinthesixstring
2010-07-07 01:18:51
@bothYouGuys: yep, exactly, do both! is that too much to ask, can't we just.... getta long ;-) yeah look, I'm just from the viewpoint that the priority is to just answer the question technically... and then yeah, give the warning and recommendation, but that's 2nd place in my opinion
andy
2010-07-07 01:37:37
not trying to start a "nerd war'... lol. But we can sometimes get caught up in the fire fight. Sorry if I offended anyone.
rockinthesixstring
2010-07-07 01:47:51
@andy's update to the OP's update was exactly the same thing I was thinking. Take a look at Adobe Air.
rockinthesixstring
2010-07-07 14:44:34
+3
A:
I'm sure browser developers would need a lot of "inspiration" - aka $$$ to do this. It's currently not a feature that a whole lot of people are looking for.
Since standard compliance is very high on the priority list for all browser developers, making this out of the box would be a problem. Namely because there is no CSS/HTML support for it, and the standard is to have a white background. This means that they would need a custom "flag" somewhere in the markup to tell it to switch off the white background.
This would be exclusive to the browser that implements the "feature" and anyone else using any other browser would not be privy to the it.
rockinthesixstring
2010-07-07 00:48:49
+1 exactly - I'd dare say there would be 100s of things browsers *should* work on before this.
alex
2010-07-07 01:22:21
A:
You mean like this?
Check out screenlets - http://www.screenlets.org/
also check out dashboard widgets (mac), google desktop gadgets (mac/win/linux), and yahoo widgets (mac/win).
no
2010-07-07 06:01:57
No, I think he means a web page with a transparent background. Anyone can "resize" their browser to get an effect like that. But you cannot create a web page where you can "punch holes" in the content and view your desktop.
rockinthesixstring
2010-07-07 14:42:04
Read the last sentence of the OP: "I even will probably seek to use some browser-window-less tech to run it (I've heard about Mozilla Prism and XulRunner, KDE and Windows offer to use HTML for desktop widgets, Chromium is meant to offer something alike, etc.)" ... this is exactly that sort of thing.
no
2010-07-07 15:21:00
Any reason this was downvoted? "screenlets" does everything the OP requested, minus the "zero-install" part, which, as has been established, is not a realistic requirement. All other requirements can be met in the form of a screenlets app.
no
2010-07-09 23:09:36