10 ms·

NW.js

334 points by tommoor 12y ago

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
mkohlmyr 12y ago
Wrote my first node-webkit app the other week, pretty enjoyable experience overall. Very easy to do as someone with web development experience. Also it seemed appropriate as I was already running https://github.com/mixu/nwm https://github.com/mixu/nwm as my window manager ;)
evo_9 12y ago
How is this different than the already awesome Meteor which hit version 1.0 not long ago (and I have to admit it is rocking my world right now, love it). Genuinely intrigued and interested, how is this different/better? Edit: Oh yeah I forgot HN isn't about answering honest questions, if you dislike something then you downvote it... fucking lame.
- tommoor 12y ago
  This is quite different to Meteor, allows you to package node and webkit together to create a native-looking desktop application written in Javascript.
- mackwic 12y ago
  Basically, it's a scriptable desktop application derived from a browser. Nothing to do with a server framework as it's at the other end of the pipe. ;)
- realusername 12y ago
  They are not playing on the same market, node-webkit is about creating native apps with node + webkit + web technologies. As an example, Popcorn Time is built with node-webkit.
- netghost 12y ago
  I think it's completely different. This essentially lets you build local applications that use the dom as the UI and JS as the controlling language. The site doesn't do much to explain that though, so here's a presentation: https://speakerdeck.com/zcbenz/node-webkit-app-runtime-based-on-chromium-and-node-dot-js https://speakerdeck.com/zcbenz/node-webkit-app-runtime-based... Edit: Oh yeah, sometimes folks do answer honest questions ;)
- imslavko 12y ago
  They are different in purpose and features. If anything, Meteor would use Node-Webkit to assist building desktop apps, the same way Meteor is using Phonegap to build mobile apps.
- Kiro 12y ago
  What made you draw the conclusion that this is anything like Meteor?
  - 16bytes 12y ago
    What made you draw the conclusion that your comment was contributing to the discussion? That somebody didn't know about deployment (server vs. client) differences between two young frameworks for building single page applications?
    - adrusi 12y ago
      Actually I think it would be quite interesting to know what caused the confusion. My first reaction was that the projects are completely different and the question must have been grounded in a complete misunderstanding of what NW is, but as I think more I realize that there are some notable similarities. Meteor synchronizes the clients and server in such a way that it seems they're running in the same process on the same machine, and the only thing the developer need worry about is adding some declarative configuration for security and efficiency (obviously this simplifies things a bit). NW actually makes the client and server run in the same process on the same machine (or rather the parts of the stack that typically run on the client and server respectively). The parent comment asked a question which may well have provoked an interesting discussion into a topic like this. And although its phrasing may have been a little blunt, it didn't come across as rude. If we assume that evo_9's comment was honest confusion rather than laziness, it's then only fair to assume Kiro's was founded in genuine interest as to where the confusion lies.
    - Kiro 12y ago
      I wasn't trying to be snarky. I was just interested.
      - 16bytes 12y ago
        Apologies, as I misinterpreted your short reply. It was a bit odd have "how is A different than B?" replied to as "well, how is A similar to B?". Now that I think about it they are both quite similar ("build apps with node.js/html/js/npm") and very different at the same time (webserver vs chromium runtime), so both questions are fair.
- Igglyboo 12y ago
  This is completely different than meteor. Meteor is for making realtime web applications, this is for making desktop applications by leverage existing web technology (html/css/js).
  - sqyttles 12y ago
    I wonder what performance would be like for multimedia applications or gaming (which are usually written in strongly-typed, compiled langs like C++).
- xutopia 12y ago
  People will downvote if it's irrelevant to the discussion.
bgun 12y ago
Not to be That Guy, but why oh why doesn't the compass in their logo point northwest? :)
- tommoor 12y ago
  I'll create an issue, I think they're on with a new logo too!
- shittyanalogy 12y ago
  http://www.webkit.org/ http://www.webkit.org/
  - bgun 12y ago
    Huh, Safari too. Is this a WebKit thing, or a design "rule of thumb" like clocks being set to ~10:10?
    - jreed91 12y ago
      I think it's just a more aesthetically pleasing choice. Instead of just an up and down arrow.
- orivej 12y ago
  The compass arrow points to the north, so when it is in the top right, northwest is right on top.
  - robert_tweed 12y ago
    As someone else put it, this means you are heading northwest. If the needle is pointing northwest, your compass is broken! Amazing how many comments there are about this though. It's a mental illusion, like "what do cows drink?"
- taeric 12y ago
  Because then you would be traveling north east? That is, I think the point is you are looking at a compass when you are headed north west. (That make sense? Or am I otherwise just off?)
mackwic 12y ago
By the way, who use nw here ? How ?
- tommoor 12y ago
  https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/List-of-apps-and-companies-using-node-webkit https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/List-of-apps-and-companie...
sync 12y ago
This google group message is particularly revealing: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/nwjs-general/V1FhvfaFIzQ/720xKVd0jNkJ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/nwjs-general/V1FhvfaFI... Looks like they have migrated to io.js as well.
- mnutt 12y ago
  In addition to the node/iojs reasoning, I think nw.js is a clearer name. Node-webkit makes it sound like it's just webkit bindings for node, whereas it's quite a bit more than that. Fusing the node and webkit runloops together is really pretty amazing.
- jdp23 12y ago
  And it also explains why they changed the name from node-webkit: "because both parts of the name are irrelevant now" (since they're on io.js and Chromium).
  - tommoor 12y ago
    I believe NW will become an acronym for "native web"
    - staunch 12y ago
      A http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym :D
      - csours 12y ago
        A la Rocket Propelled Grenade
TheAceOfHearts 12y ago
I haven't used this new release, but I've played around with it when it was node-webkit. I love the idea of it... But when using it, I found the tooling was lacking. Developing anything on it was tedious :(.
api 12y ago
I've been following this as node-webkit for a while. It's like Qt Quick except it leverages all that's been built for the web and you don't need to waste mental bandwidth learning another new thing. (Not that I'm against learning new things, but I only do so when there is a reward. Qt Quick isn't "enough better" than the web to justify it.)
- mackwic 12y ago
  Especially the full compatibility with all the HTML/CSS/JS widgets for UI, and the npm packages for computing/interfacing. I have a lot of pleasure to ship software developed with nwjs, there's plenty of choice and the issues are well known (esp. for a new thing like this).
jacob2dot0 12y ago
If these guys switch to io.js they no longer will be node or webkit since they use blink under the hood.
k__ 12y ago
Good to know that there is still something going on. A few months ago I looked into creating desktop apps with JavaScript and found Node-Webkit and the Atom-Shell. AS seemed to bloated for my taste, but I found NW was kinda stale, back in the days.
- McKayDavis 12y ago
  Can you elaborate a bit more on what you found bloated about Atom-Shell over Node-Webkit? I've been going down the AS route as I too found Node-Webkit was stale and AS was very active. I may switch to NW.JS if the reasons are compelling enough though...
  - k__ 12y ago
    Well, AS seemed rather big to me compared to NW.js, also it wanted me to use a special directory structure for my application.
hitlin37 12y ago
nice to see node-webkit in a new form. nw.js looks to be the right tool to write cross-platforms apps. I used some of the apps written using node-webkit and they run great on ubuntu/linux. I've been thinking of re-writing an old application (written using xulrunner) into a nw.js app. Since i'm new to nw.js, its probably good to ask here. As i understand node suits for the application where I/O are required. My application talks a lot from hardware such as getting setting files using network, sending status over the same. The application has its own protocol for talking over the network socket with other devices over the network. Is nw.js is a good choice for such an app?
- mackwic 12y ago
  Seems like it is. We use nwjs with lot of files + sqlite3[1] + bluetooth + http + child synchronization for tasks in other languages[2]. It works well, scale well, is cross-platform with changing very few of the application code (the build process is quite complex, thought). Also, building an html with bootstrap, eventually with the chrome developer tools, takes agility to a whole new level when we speak about desktop applications. [1] With http://bookshelfjs.org/ http://bookshelfjs.org/ but http://sequelizejs.com/ http://sequelizejs.com/ is better in most cases [2] With https://github.com/primus/primus https://github.com/primus/primus we spawn watchdogs which run processes (via http://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html http://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html). It's very effective.
  - hitlin37 12y ago
    thanks for the links. sounds good to look at. Other risk part i have in application is calling hw decoders from gst api for playing mp4 videos. not sure how well that is supported in nw.js especially for intel and arm arch.
    - hitlin37 12y ago
      the closest example of the application i have would be some sort of kiosk for rail reservation. people come, select journey and time, do the payment and get the printed ticket. For such a scenario, i'm exploring nw.js.
deanclatworthy 12y ago
I think you have got your marketing messages the wrong way around. Your primary message should be that you can leverage web technologies to build native apps. I think the node thing is secondary to that.
beefman 12y ago
I've been making desktop apps for clients with node-webkit for over a year now, and it's a dream. Popcorn Time and Light Table are both built on it (the latter being written in ClojureScript). Happy to see this change and can't wait to try it out!
jedisct1 12y ago
Looks like this is what Peerio was built with.
kbody 12y ago
Any worthy changes or just the name? Like for instance using libchromiumcontent instead of building chromium like https://github.com/atom/atom-shell https://github.com/atom/atom-shell ? I also like the node way of not forcing a window and instead using an entry.js to bootstrap anything you want, more freedom, especially handy on tray apps.
chrisrickard 12y ago
Much better name imho. I love node-webkit, although at the moment I am grappling with mp3 support (finding the right version of ffmpegsudo.so that works with the latest nw version)
premasagar 12y ago
Ooops. I keep reading it as nsfw.js - I'm not sure what that module would do. Congrats to the NW team.
sjs382 12y ago
It's strange that the icon is a compass, but it's pointing NE (instead of NW).
- taeric 12y ago
  Compass needles always point N. If you are looking at a compass and you see one like this, then you are facing NW. (Unless I am completely forgetting how compasses work, of course.)
  - pyre 12y ago
    This is correct. The compass needle is just a polarized magnet that is floating in solution. One side (usually the red side) points North, and the other side (usually white) points South. If a person was holding that icon they would be facing Northwest (assuming "front" is at the top of the icon).
  - sjs382 12y ago
    I didn't even consider how compasses actually work when thinking about that logo/icon. I just saw it and it looked wrong. :) Seems a bit counterintuitive for a logo, but I'm obviously the one that's wrong, here. Sorry!
    - taeric 12y ago
      I can't disagree that it looked wrong, expecially since this wasn't the only thread that commented on this. However, if you were to change the needle, then it would be wrong. So, I'm not sure that there is a way out of this. Without just dropping the compass.
      - bentcorner 12y ago
        A "NW" at the top of the compass would help people realize their error.
      - johnmw 12y ago
        I think it is great just as it is :) It is a little like a visual version of the confusion first caused by a recursive acronym. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym]
oDot 12y ago
Does anyone have a take on how to deal with app's appearance using these kind of tools? While a lot of apps using it look impressive, don't we lose the native look and feel of the OS?
- hit8run 12y ago
  Therefore I wrote https://github.com/tschundeee/maverix https://github.com/tschundeee/maverix as an OSX Theme :)
  - chrisrickard 12y ago
    Maverix looks great. I certainly see a desktop UI theme gaining traction.. Although a lot of work - be super beneficial to provide 'skins' for yosemite/windows10/gnome etc..
    - hit8run 12y ago
      I thought about creating a meta CSS UI Framework for every major Desktop UI. Would be great to find some contributors to this endeavor..
- hitlin37 12y ago
  well, there is http://webkitgtk.org/ http://webkitgtk.org/ for webkit on linux.
fersho311 12y ago
For my understanding, does nw.js accomplish the same thing as browserify?
- munimkazia 12y ago
  This is the problem in having a vague landing page which doesn't explain anything. While browserify allows you to use node modules in the browser, NW.js (like node-webkit) allows you to build applications by providing a DOM and browser window. Like popcorntime.
- mmcclure 12y ago
  Nah, they're not really related. Browserify handles dependency management on the browser side, while NW.js allows you to build desktop applications using web technologies.
cheriot 12y ago
site under construction I'll just come back tomorrow then. Seriously, though, is this tool complete enough for people that are focused on building things rather than playing with trendy toys?
- pizza 12y ago
  Where, precisely, does the problem with creative new programming projects lie? Maybe it's a reinvention of the wheel, but surely by now we all know that wheels are constantly re-engineered, with exotic new materials..
  - cheriot 12y ago
    I'm not sure what you're assuming I asked, but I was actually asking the question I typed. It's impossible to tell from the site what the point is or if it's accomplishes that point. I was hoping someone on HN knew something about it.
azinman2 12y ago
Only through these comments could I even learn what this does -- build desktop apps in javascript. "NW.js lets you call all Node.js modules directly from DOM and enables a new way of writing applications with all Web technologies." does not tell me that... I thought it meant that in an ordinary web page I could 'require' node modules that used node APIs like stream. It is all about desktop apps, right?
- S4M 12y ago
  Honestly, I wonder why they don't bother to put an example on the main page. Looking at the github repo of the project [0] (which doesn't have a folder "example" as well), it says: node-webkit is an app runtime based on Chromium and node.js. You can write native apps in HTML and JavaScript with node-webkit. It also lets you call Node.js modules directly from the DOM and enables a new way of writing native applications with all Web technologies. So I suppose it's about desktop apps ("native" must mean "desktop"). [0] https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js
STRML 12y ago
This project's homepage uses the same template as iojs.org (https://iojs.org/ https://iojs.org/) and unfortunately also has the same problem: the front page says almost nothing about the project. What does "call Node.js modules directly from the DOM" mean? I write Node.js code, all day, every day, and I have for three years, and I have absolutely no idea what that means. NW.js appears to be some sort of "break" from node-webkit, and the copy on the main site seems to suggest that it is an entirely new project. The only useful link I see goes to a Google Groups post that says that node-webkit has been renamed to NW because it is neither Node nor Webkit. This is missing the point entirely. The tagline should be something lke: "NW.js is a runtime for building desktop applications using Web technologies. Like WebViews for iOS/Android, NW.js leverages the latest in web technologies (Chromium and io.js) to provide a complete platform for building fully-featured desktop applications using the same technologies used for the Web." Instead, the tagline seems to be advertising that I can check `process.browser` from inside a <script> tag. That's cool, but somewhat analogous to the tagline for Tesla's newest car saying that it "lets you change songs with voice commands". Nice feature, but doesn't explain the project at all. I put in a PR for the iojs.org site (https://github.com/iojs/iojs.github.io/pull/50 https://github.com/iojs/iojs.github.io/pull/50) which is garnering some good discussion but it doesn't appear that anyone is "in charge" so it may be a long time before any sort of major change is merged. Edit: Let me note that all of this is a shame because both of these projects (io.js and nw.js) are very exciting news for the Node community as a whole and are very well done projects! I don't mean to disparage the work of those teams whatsoever, they are doing a fantastic job.
- acoyfellow 12y ago
  This looks like a great opportunity for someone who is looking to get a gig for tech copywriting, which can be very lucrative. Somebody who has experience writing persuasive and informative copy, and can do a PR, you could have yourself a good resume piece :)
  - deanclatworthy 12y ago
    A very interesting idea. Although there would not be much lucrative work within the OS community.
rtpg 12y ago
Is this a Node-webkit runtime? Like, I install this, and all node-webkit projects can stop bundling NW with the releases?
- moondowner 12y ago
  On the GitHub page it says: "node-webkit is renamed NW.js" https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js
alphaomegacode 12y ago
Great projects & comments. Am I correct in assuming that the end users need Node Webkit (or NWjs) installed before this runs? That means Node as well? Instead of doing proof of projects in C# or Obj-C or C++, this could be a great time saver. I've seen the build instructions but it seems they all need Node installed and the node-webkit path referenced.
- faboo 12y ago
  It depends on how you've packaged your application. Technically, yes, the user needs NW.js to run your application, but you can ship with NW.js if you like (it's just one fat executable). When NW.js is run, it looks for a NW.js app to run in the working directory, so all the user needs to do is run the NW.js binary you provided and it will launch your app.
quickvi 12y ago
Has anyone been able to combine this with python? I have some python ML code that would be difficult to port to js and it would be nice to be able to pack everything together.
_greim_ 12y ago
What's the main use case for this? (e.g. Android or iOS apps, or desktop apps, all of the above, or something else?)
- thomasfoster96 12y ago
  Desktop apps. It's Node and Chromium together, so you can have a desktop app written in HTML and JavaScript and have access to the APIs that come with Node (so you have access to the file system, etc.).
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
z3t4 12y ago
NW.js has both the Browser JavaScript API's and the Node.js API's. It is bleeding edge technology witch enable you to make desktop applications the same way you make web apps. It can be weird if you are used to HTTP server > client as it's possible within a script tag to use Node.js API's. An advantage with going desktop instead of browser is that you can do much more and it's easier to sell your application. There are for example already games on Steam that are just web apps, but using NW and run "natively" on the desktop. You do not need an SDK, or full blown IDE, just use your usual tools. I program in Notepad myself. Just write html and JS files and treat NW as just another browser. Then package and distribute your app and the user wont notice or care that they are using a "browser".

334 points by tommoor 12y ago

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

Wrote my first node-webkit app the other week, pretty enjoyable experience overall. Very easy to do as someone with web development experience. Also it seemed appropriate as I was already running https://github.com/mixu/nwm https://github.com/mixu/nwm as my window manager ;)

evo_9 12y ago

How is this different than the already awesome Meteor which hit version 1.0 not long ago (and I have to admit it is rocking my world right now, love it). Genuinely intrigued and interested, how is this different/better? Edit: Oh yeah I forgot HN isn't about answering honest questions, if you dislike something then you downvote it... fucking lame.

tommoor 12y ago
This is quite different to Meteor, allows you to package node and webkit together to create a native-looking desktop application written in Javascript.
mackwic 12y ago
Basically, it's a scriptable desktop application derived from a browser. Nothing to do with a server framework as it's at the other end of the pipe. ;)
realusername 12y ago
They are not playing on the same market, node-webkit is about creating native apps with node + webkit + web technologies. As an example, Popcorn Time is built with node-webkit.
netghost 12y ago
I think it's completely different. This essentially lets you build local applications that use the dom as the UI and JS as the controlling language. The site doesn't do much to explain that though, so here's a presentation: https://speakerdeck.com/zcbenz/node-webkit-app-runtime-based-on-chromium-and-node-dot-js https://speakerdeck.com/zcbenz/node-webkit-app-runtime-based... Edit: Oh yeah, sometimes folks do answer honest questions ;)
imslavko 12y ago
They are different in purpose and features. If anything, Meteor would use Node-Webkit to assist building desktop apps, the same way Meteor is using Phonegap to build mobile apps.
Kiro 12y ago
What made you draw the conclusion that this is anything like Meteor?
- 16bytes 12y ago
  What made you draw the conclusion that your comment was contributing to the discussion? That somebody didn't know about deployment (server vs. client) differences between two young frameworks for building single page applications?
  - adrusi 12y ago
    Actually I think it would be quite interesting to know what caused the confusion. My first reaction was that the projects are completely different and the question must have been grounded in a complete misunderstanding of what NW is, but as I think more I realize that there are some notable similarities. Meteor synchronizes the clients and server in such a way that it seems they're running in the same process on the same machine, and the only thing the developer need worry about is adding some declarative configuration for security and efficiency (obviously this simplifies things a bit). NW actually makes the client and server run in the same process on the same machine (or rather the parts of the stack that typically run on the client and server respectively). The parent comment asked a question which may well have provoked an interesting discussion into a topic like this. And although its phrasing may have been a little blunt, it didn't come across as rude. If we assume that evo_9's comment was honest confusion rather than laziness, it's then only fair to assume Kiro's was founded in genuine interest as to where the confusion lies.
  - Kiro 12y ago
    I wasn't trying to be snarky. I was just interested.
    - 16bytes 12y ago
      Apologies, as I misinterpreted your short reply. It was a bit odd have "how is A different than B?" replied to as "well, how is A similar to B?". Now that I think about it they are both quite similar ("build apps with node.js/html/js/npm") and very different at the same time (webserver vs chromium runtime), so both questions are fair.
Igglyboo 12y ago
This is completely different than meteor. Meteor is for making realtime web applications, this is for making desktop applications by leverage existing web technology (html/css/js).
- sqyttles 12y ago
  I wonder what performance would be like for multimedia applications or gaming (which are usually written in strongly-typed, compiled langs like C++).
xutopia 12y ago
People will downvote if it's irrelevant to the discussion.

bgun 12y ago

Not to be That Guy, but why oh why doesn't the compass in their logo point northwest? :)

tommoor 12y ago
I'll create an issue, I think they're on with a new logo too!
shittyanalogy 12y ago
http://www.webkit.org/ http://www.webkit.org/
- bgun 12y ago
  Huh, Safari too. Is this a WebKit thing, or a design "rule of thumb" like clocks being set to ~10:10?
  - jreed91 12y ago
    I think it's just a more aesthetically pleasing choice. Instead of just an up and down arrow.
orivej 12y ago
The compass arrow points to the north, so when it is in the top right, northwest is right on top.
- robert_tweed 12y ago
  As someone else put it, this means you are heading northwest. If the needle is pointing northwest, your compass is broken! Amazing how many comments there are about this though. It's a mental illusion, like "what do cows drink?"
taeric 12y ago
Because then you would be traveling north east? That is, I think the point is you are looking at a compass when you are headed north west. (That make sense? Or am I otherwise just off?)

mackwic 12y ago

By the way, who use nw here ? How ?

tommoor 12y ago
https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/List-of-apps-and-companies-using-node-webkit https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/wiki/List-of-apps-and-companie...

sync 12y ago

This google group message is particularly revealing: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/nwjs-general/V1FhvfaFIzQ/720xKVd0jNkJ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/nwjs-general/V1FhvfaFI... Looks like they have migrated to io.js as well.

mnutt 12y ago
In addition to the node/iojs reasoning, I think nw.js is a clearer name. Node-webkit makes it sound like it's just webkit bindings for node, whereas it's quite a bit more than that. Fusing the node and webkit runloops together is really pretty amazing.
jdp23 12y ago
And it also explains why they changed the name from node-webkit: "because both parts of the name are irrelevant now" (since they're on io.js and Chromium).
- tommoor 12y ago
  I believe NW will become an acronym for "native web"
  - staunch 12y ago
    A http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym :D
    - csours 12y ago
      A la Rocket Propelled Grenade

TheAceOfHearts 12y ago

I haven't used this new release, but I've played around with it when it was node-webkit. I love the idea of it... But when using it, I found the tooling was lacking. Developing anything on it was tedious :(.

api 12y ago

I've been following this as node-webkit for a while. It's like Qt Quick except it leverages all that's been built for the web and you don't need to waste mental bandwidth learning another new thing. (Not that I'm against learning new things, but I only do so when there is a reward. Qt Quick isn't "enough better" than the web to justify it.)

mackwic 12y ago
Especially the full compatibility with all the HTML/CSS/JS widgets for UI, and the npm packages for computing/interfacing. I have a lot of pleasure to ship software developed with nwjs, there's plenty of choice and the issues are well known (esp. for a new thing like this).

jacob2dot0 12y ago

If these guys switch to io.js they no longer will be node or webkit since they use blink under the hood.

k__ 12y ago

Good to know that there is still something going on. A few months ago I looked into creating desktop apps with JavaScript and found Node-Webkit and the Atom-Shell. AS seemed to bloated for my taste, but I found NW was kinda stale, back in the days.

McKayDavis 12y ago
Can you elaborate a bit more on what you found bloated about Atom-Shell over Node-Webkit? I've been going down the AS route as I too found Node-Webkit was stale and AS was very active. I may switch to NW.JS if the reasons are compelling enough though...
- k__ 12y ago
  Well, AS seemed rather big to me compared to NW.js, also it wanted me to use a special directory structure for my application.

hitlin37 12y ago

nice to see node-webkit in a new form. nw.js looks to be the right tool to write cross-platforms apps. I used some of the apps written using node-webkit and they run great on ubuntu/linux. I've been thinking of re-writing an old application (written using xulrunner) into a nw.js app. Since i'm new to nw.js, its probably good to ask here. As i understand node suits for the application where I/O are required. My application talks a lot from hardware such as getting setting files using network, sending status over the same. The application has its own protocol for talking over the network socket with other devices over the network. Is nw.js is a good choice for such an app?

mackwic 12y ago
Seems like it is. We use nwjs with lot of files + sqlite3[1] + bluetooth + http + child synchronization for tasks in other languages[2]. It works well, scale well, is cross-platform with changing very few of the application code (the build process is quite complex, thought). Also, building an html with bootstrap, eventually with the chrome developer tools, takes agility to a whole new level when we speak about desktop applications. [1] With http://bookshelfjs.org/ http://bookshelfjs.org/ but http://sequelizejs.com/ http://sequelizejs.com/ is better in most cases [2] With https://github.com/primus/primus https://github.com/primus/primus we spawn watchdogs which run processes (via http://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html http://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html). It's very effective.
- hitlin37 12y ago
  thanks for the links. sounds good to look at. Other risk part i have in application is calling hw decoders from gst api for playing mp4 videos. not sure how well that is supported in nw.js especially for intel and arm arch.
  - hitlin37 12y ago
    the closest example of the application i have would be some sort of kiosk for rail reservation. people come, select journey and time, do the payment and get the printed ticket. For such a scenario, i'm exploring nw.js.

deanclatworthy 12y ago

I think you have got your marketing messages the wrong way around. Your primary message should be that you can leverage web technologies to build native apps. I think the node thing is secondary to that.

beefman 12y ago

I've been making desktop apps for clients with node-webkit for over a year now, and it's a dream. Popcorn Time and Light Table are both built on it (the latter being written in ClojureScript). Happy to see this change and can't wait to try it out!

jedisct1 12y ago

Looks like this is what Peerio was built with.

kbody 12y ago

Any worthy changes or just the name? Like for instance using libchromiumcontent instead of building chromium like https://github.com/atom/atom-shell https://github.com/atom/atom-shell ? I also like the node way of not forcing a window and instead using an entry.js to bootstrap anything you want, more freedom, especially handy on tray apps.

chrisrickard 12y ago

Much better name imho. I love node-webkit, although at the moment I am grappling with mp3 support (finding the right version of ffmpegsudo.so that works with the latest nw version)

premasagar 12y ago

Ooops. I keep reading it as nsfw.js - I'm not sure what that module would do. Congrats to the NW team.

sjs382 12y ago

It's strange that the icon is a compass, but it's pointing NE (instead of NW).

taeric 12y ago
Compass needles always point N. If you are looking at a compass and you see one like this, then you are facing NW. (Unless I am completely forgetting how compasses work, of course.)
- pyre 12y ago
  This is correct. The compass needle is just a polarized magnet that is floating in solution. One side (usually the red side) points North, and the other side (usually white) points South. If a person was holding that icon they would be facing Northwest (assuming "front" is at the top of the icon).
- sjs382 12y ago
  I didn't even consider how compasses actually work when thinking about that logo/icon. I just saw it and it looked wrong. :) Seems a bit counterintuitive for a logo, but I'm obviously the one that's wrong, here. Sorry!
  - taeric 12y ago
    I can't disagree that it looked wrong, expecially since this wasn't the only thread that commented on this. However, if you were to change the needle, then it would be wrong. So, I'm not sure that there is a way out of this. Without just dropping the compass.
    - bentcorner 12y ago
      A "NW" at the top of the compass would help people realize their error.
    - johnmw 12y ago
      I think it is great just as it is :) It is a little like a visual version of the confusion first caused by a recursive acronym. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym]

oDot 12y ago

Does anyone have a take on how to deal with app's appearance using these kind of tools? While a lot of apps using it look impressive, don't we lose the native look and feel of the OS?

hit8run 12y ago
Therefore I wrote https://github.com/tschundeee/maverix https://github.com/tschundeee/maverix as an OSX Theme :)
- chrisrickard 12y ago
  Maverix looks great. I certainly see a desktop UI theme gaining traction.. Although a lot of work - be super beneficial to provide 'skins' for yosemite/windows10/gnome etc..
  - hit8run 12y ago
    I thought about creating a meta CSS UI Framework for every major Desktop UI. Would be great to find some contributors to this endeavor..
hitlin37 12y ago
well, there is http://webkitgtk.org/ http://webkitgtk.org/ for webkit on linux.

fersho311 12y ago

For my understanding, does nw.js accomplish the same thing as browserify?

munimkazia 12y ago
This is the problem in having a vague landing page which doesn't explain anything. While browserify allows you to use node modules in the browser, NW.js (like node-webkit) allows you to build applications by providing a DOM and browser window. Like popcorntime.
mmcclure 12y ago
Nah, they're not really related. Browserify handles dependency management on the browser side, while NW.js allows you to build desktop applications using web technologies.

cheriot 12y ago

site under construction I'll just come back tomorrow then. Seriously, though, is this tool complete enough for people that are focused on building things rather than playing with trendy toys?

pizza 12y ago
Where, precisely, does the problem with creative new programming projects lie? Maybe it's a reinvention of the wheel, but surely by now we all know that wheels are constantly re-engineered, with exotic new materials..
- cheriot 12y ago
  I'm not sure what you're assuming I asked, but I was actually asking the question I typed. It's impossible to tell from the site what the point is or if it's accomplishes that point. I was hoping someone on HN knew something about it.

azinman2 12y ago

Only through these comments could I even learn what this does -- build desktop apps in javascript. "NW.js lets you call all Node.js modules directly from DOM and enables a new way of writing applications with all Web technologies." does not tell me that... I thought it meant that in an ordinary web page I could 'require' node modules that used node APIs like stream. It is all about desktop apps, right?

S4M 12y ago
Honestly, I wonder why they don't bother to put an example on the main page. Looking at the github repo of the project [0] (which doesn't have a folder "example" as well), it says: node-webkit is an app runtime based on Chromium and node.js. You can write native apps in HTML and JavaScript with node-webkit. It also lets you call Node.js modules directly from the DOM and enables a new way of writing native applications with all Web technologies. So I suppose it's about desktop apps ("native" must mean "desktop"). [0] https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js

STRML 12y ago

This project's homepage uses the same template as iojs.org (https://iojs.org/ https://iojs.org/) and unfortunately also has the same problem: the front page says almost nothing about the project. What does "call Node.js modules directly from the DOM" mean? I write Node.js code, all day, every day, and I have for three years, and I have absolutely no idea what that means. NW.js appears to be some sort of "break" from node-webkit, and the copy on the main site seems to suggest that it is an entirely new project. The only useful link I see goes to a Google Groups post that says that node-webkit has been renamed to NW because it is neither Node nor Webkit. This is missing the point entirely. The tagline should be something lke: "NW.js is a runtime for building desktop applications using Web technologies. Like WebViews for iOS/Android, NW.js leverages the latest in web technologies (Chromium and io.js) to provide a complete platform for building fully-featured desktop applications using the same technologies used for the Web." Instead, the tagline seems to be advertising that I can check `process.browser` from inside a <script> tag. That's cool, but somewhat analogous to the tagline for Tesla's newest car saying that it "lets you change songs with voice commands". Nice feature, but doesn't explain the project at all. I put in a PR for the iojs.org site (https://github.com/iojs/iojs.github.io/pull/50 https://github.com/iojs/iojs.github.io/pull/50) which is garnering some good discussion but it doesn't appear that anyone is "in charge" so it may be a long time before any sort of major change is merged. Edit: Let me note that all of this is a shame because both of these projects (io.js and nw.js) are very exciting news for the Node community as a whole and are very well done projects! I don't mean to disparage the work of those teams whatsoever, they are doing a fantastic job.

acoyfellow 12y ago
This looks like a great opportunity for someone who is looking to get a gig for tech copywriting, which can be very lucrative. Somebody who has experience writing persuasive and informative copy, and can do a PR, you could have yourself a good resume piece :)
- deanclatworthy 12y ago
  A very interesting idea. Although there would not be much lucrative work within the OS community.

rtpg 12y ago

Is this a Node-webkit runtime? Like, I install this, and all node-webkit projects can stop bundling NW with the releases?

moondowner 12y ago
On the GitHub page it says: "node-webkit is renamed NW.js" https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js

alphaomegacode 12y ago

Great projects & comments. Am I correct in assuming that the end users need Node Webkit (or NWjs) installed before this runs? That means Node as well? Instead of doing proof of projects in C# or Obj-C or C++, this could be a great time saver. I've seen the build instructions but it seems they all need Node installed and the node-webkit path referenced.

faboo 12y ago
It depends on how you've packaged your application. Technically, yes, the user needs NW.js to run your application, but you can ship with NW.js if you like (it's just one fat executable). When NW.js is run, it looks for a NW.js app to run in the working directory, so all the user needs to do is run the NW.js binary you provided and it will launch your app.

quickvi 12y ago

Has anyone been able to combine this with python? I have some python ML code that would be difficult to port to js and it would be nice to be able to pack everything together.

_greim_ 12y ago

What's the main use case for this? (e.g. Android or iOS apps, or desktop apps, all of the above, or something else?)

thomasfoster96 12y ago
Desktop apps. It's Node and Chromium together, so you can have a desktop app written in HTML and JavaScript and have access to the APIs that come with Node (so you have access to the file system, etc.).

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

z3t4 12y ago

NW.js has both the Browser JavaScript API's and the Node.js API's. It is bleeding edge technology witch enable you to make desktop applications the same way you make web apps. It can be weird if you are used to HTTP server > client as it's possible within a script tag to use Node.js API's. An advantage with going desktop instead of browser is that you can do much more and it's easier to sell your application. There are for example already games on Steam that are just web apps, but using NW and run "natively" on the desktop. You do not need an SDK, or full blown IDE, just use your usual tools. I program in Notepad myself. Just write html and JS files and treat NW as just another browser. Then package and distribute your app and the user wont notice or care that they are using a "browser".