Canvas3D XUL Runner App 0.3

Here's the progress so far on v0.3 of the XUL Runner App project.

Version 0.3	-
☆ Windows →	Portable_Canvas_0.3w.zip
☆ Mac OS X →	(incomplete)

Planned Features

Local files to be added!

• For now, a static file would be acceptable.

Portable Canvas to work on Mac

Feb 23

Demi-success!!

• Canvas elements display properly on Mac Mini!!
  • However, the application simply refuses to run on Leopard
  • This issue is common among other programs on Leopard, including Adobe CS3

• The app was simply missing canvas3d.xpt from the components folder

• Next steps are to figure out how to work with Leopard

Dec 15

Progress

• Windows version of Portable Canvas 0.3 is working!!

Notes

• Mac OS X version does not include its own copy of XUL Runner or demos
• How to exclude multiple pages in Wordpress: http://codex.wordpress.org/wp_list_pages
• File permissions in Wordpress: http://codex.wordpress.org/Changing_File_Permissions
• Sometimes, the loaded file will produce errors
  • This can be "fixed" by loading the file again
  • Should work 70%+ of the time

Dec 12

Progress simply must find the most round-about way of manifesting itself. The solution will be at your fingertips, but you'll have to walk a mile and 3/4 light year to get to it. It's like Mouse Trap, but many orders greater in complexity and many orders lesser in amusement...

Adventure into the Abyss

• Started off trying to get MyBrowser working on Mac in the ORI (Spain)
• Found this site and recognized it from 0.1 (helpful!): https://developer.mozilla.org/En/XULRunner:Deploying_XULRunner_1.8
• Began changing folder structure to match the example for Mac OS X
• Started looking for location of Mozilla source on this computer
• Found Minefield in Applications folder, but couldn't check its properties for the shortcut target
  • Is clearly a Windows user, and does not understand the Mac paradigm. :/
• Required /Library/Frameworks/.../1.8/ according to the guide, this computer only has 1.9 and no Hg
• Downloaded Mozilla source from one of Humph's labs
• Modified .mozconfig to handle XUL Runner
• Discovered that there is no XUL Runner code in the lab's version of Mozilla source... (not so helpful)
• Still can't find a stub executable for Mac OS
• Realized that MyBrowser needs moz 1.9, not 1.8!!
  • Still does not fix the missing XUL Runner code issue...
• Found the required framework files simply by looking in the expected locations!! (very helpful, but moderately shocking)
• Could not run the XUL app
• Remembered the "hack application.ini to change 1.8 requirement to 1.9" trick from v0.1
• Got MyBrowser working on Mac OS X!?! (...a first for me!)

This is where I cheer for joy inside. x3

Also, learned that <Shift>+<Command>+3 is a quick Print Screen shortcut, and produces pngs! Grab, on the other hand, is harder to access and produces memory-hogging tiffs.

Applying the Alchemy

• Compared the new and working MyBrowser structure with the old and current Portable Canvas structure
• Duplicated new structure in old folder and ran it
  • Produced a program with no application menu choices and no interface, so it couldn't be closed
  • Discovered <Control>+Clicking on the program in the dock, and the <Command>+<Alt>+<Esc> feature
• Realized I had renamed MyBrowser.jar to MyBrowser.zip earlier (because Macs can't open .jar, and are stubborn about limiting extensions to specific applications)
• Now have a running version of Portable Canvas on a Mac! ...which doesn't know how to display Canvas elements

Handy Mac shortcuts I learned today

• <Command>+<Alt>+<Esc>
  • Displays all running programs, so you can kill them. =P
• <Command>+<Shift>+3
  • Saves a screen shot of the desktop on the desktop, in png format. =D

Dec 11

Accomplishments

• Got Sokoban demo to work locally
  • The local file location is hard-coded at the moment, but changing this shouldn't be hard

Dec 7

Things tried

• Received help from mfinkle!
• Tutorial 2 displays the html, but can't load anything in the canvas element.
  • "createScene()" not found in the SDK.

Future notes

• Include some (working) demos in the SDK.