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Show HN: A programmable embedded browser written in pure Java

52 points by logn 11y ago

pokoleo 11y ago
Awesome! Please add a sample maven pom import line into the readme - many more people will use it if it has it.
- logn 11y ago
  I just added it to Maven central repo. The dependency you can use is noted on the project page in the Download section.
Sanddancer 11y ago
Interesting, but a bit misleading. I was expecting something more like HotJava, where the entire thing is java top to bottom. A webkit wrapper for Selenium tests is definitely useful, just not as neat as the idea of a pure java browser.
- logn 11y ago
  It uses only Java SE. It implements the Selenium API and wraps the renderer and JS engine that's built in to Java (WebKit). Granted, Java itself is built on native code and native WebKit renderer (whereas, the networking code, graphics, cookie management, headers, etc. are Java). Sorry to be misleading.
- adrianN 11y ago
  As for pure Java browsers, there is GNGR https://gngr.info/ https://gngr.info/
sanxiyn 11y ago
If people are interested in WebKit source used by Java, you can get it here: http://hg.openjdk.java.net/openjfx/8/master/rt/file/tip/modules/web/src/main/native/Source http://hg.openjdk.java.net/openjfx/8/master/rt/file/tip/modu...
stephankoelle 11y ago
I wonder if this works on aws lambda?
ape4 11y ago
What's the use case for this? Thanks.
- epalmer 11y ago
  I was wondering also what the use case is for a headless browser. I'm guessing I'm just not thinking about this the correct way.
  - ape4 11y ago
    Glad I'm not alone. Obviously it can download pages like wget or curl. Presumably you could access the DOM of a page - for scraping, etc. Then there is a testing - perhaps this would be used for automated access of your website to make sure its working. But these are all guesses.
    - logn 11y ago
      Yes, that's right, for (1) crawling and general index building, (2) scraping and data extraction, and (3) testing or web automation. Some might be wondering, why this project vs other Selenium web drivers. Answer to that is: https://www.reddit.com/r/java/comments/40qa0q/a_purejava_selenium_webdriver/cywkate https://www.reddit.com/r/java/comments/40qa0q/a_purejava_sel... The primary difference from wget and curl is the ability to fully render pages, sub-resources, CSS, and JS. Also allows interaction such as clicks and keyboard events.

52 points by logn 11y ago

pokoleo 11y ago

Awesome! Please add a sample maven pom import line into the readme - many more people will use it if it has it.

logn 11y ago
I just added it to Maven central repo. The dependency you can use is noted on the project page in the Download section.

Sanddancer 11y ago

Interesting, but a bit misleading. I was expecting something more like HotJava, where the entire thing is java top to bottom. A webkit wrapper for Selenium tests is definitely useful, just not as neat as the idea of a pure java browser.

logn 11y ago
It uses only Java SE. It implements the Selenium API and wraps the renderer and JS engine that's built in to Java (WebKit). Granted, Java itself is built on native code and native WebKit renderer (whereas, the networking code, graphics, cookie management, headers, etc. are Java). Sorry to be misleading.
adrianN 11y ago
As for pure Java browsers, there is GNGR https://gngr.info/ https://gngr.info/

sanxiyn 11y ago

If people are interested in WebKit source used by Java, you can get it here: http://hg.openjdk.java.net/openjfx/8/master/rt/file/tip/modules/web/src/main/native/Source http://hg.openjdk.java.net/openjfx/8/master/rt/file/tip/modu...

stephankoelle 11y ago

I wonder if this works on aws lambda?

ape4 11y ago

What's the use case for this? Thanks.

epalmer 11y ago
I was wondering also what the use case is for a headless browser. I'm guessing I'm just not thinking about this the correct way.
- ape4 11y ago
  Glad I'm not alone. Obviously it can download pages like wget or curl. Presumably you could access the DOM of a page - for scraping, etc. Then there is a testing - perhaps this would be used for automated access of your website to make sure its working. But these are all guesses.
  - logn 11y ago
    Yes, that's right, for (1) crawling and general index building, (2) scraping and data extraction, and (3) testing or web automation. Some might be wondering, why this project vs other Selenium web drivers. Answer to that is: https://www.reddit.com/r/java/comments/40qa0q/a_purejava_selenium_webdriver/cywkate https://www.reddit.com/r/java/comments/40qa0q/a_purejava_sel... The primary difference from wget and curl is the ability to fully render pages, sub-resources, CSS, and JS. Also allows interaction such as clicks and keyboard events.