book

Programming Firefox

Name: Programming Firefox
Author: Kenneth C. Feldt
ISBN: 9780596102432

by Kenneth C. Feldt

April 2007

Intermediate to advanced

511 pages

12h 4m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
Preface
Intended AudienceWhy Buy This Book?Conventions Used in This BookTerms and UsageA Tag or an Element?How This Book Is OrganizedDemonstration PlatformsUsing Code ExamplesComments and QuestionsSafari® EnabledAcknowledgments
1. Firefox and Friends
1.1. Mozilla to Firefox and Thunderbird1.2. XML Technologies1.2.1. XML History1.2.2. XSLT and XPath1.2.3. RDF1.2.4. CSS1.3. At the Top of It All: The DOM1.4. Mixing Document Types1.5. Getting Started1.5.1. Supporting Tools1.5.1.1. Apache web server1.5.1.2. PHP1.5.1.3. MySQL1.5.2. Getting the Browser
2. XUL Basics
2.1. File Structure2.2. XUL Widgets2.2.1. Boxes2.2.2. Adding Styling2.2.3. Box Sizes2.2.4. The Flex, Pack, and Align Attributes2.2.4.1. Flex2.2.4.2. Pack2.2.4.3. Align2.3. Introducing Input Controls2.3.1. Labels and Buttons2.3.2. Text Entry2.3.3. Menus and Toolboxes2.4. More Complex Containers2.4.1. Lists2.4.2. Trees2.4.3. Grids2.4.4. Group Boxes2.5. Managing the Display Space2.5.1. Tab Boxes2.5.2. Splitters2.6. Content Display Panels2.7. Miscellaneous Widgets2.8. Helper Features2.9. Mozilla Style Declarations2.9.1. Pseudoproperties2.9.2. Pseudoclasses2.10. Summary
3. Coding and Testing for the Real World
3.1. Defining a Target Application3.2. Adding Logic3.2.1. JavaScript, Events, and DOM Nodes3.2.2. The Document Object Model3.2.2.1. Interfaces3.2.2.2. Moving from widgets to document nodes3.2.3. Events3.2.3.1. Inline event handlers3.2.3.2. Dynamic assignment of attributes3.2.3.3. Dynamic addition of event listeners3.2.3.4. External script files3.2.3.5. The event parameter3.2.4. Modifying Node Contents3.3. Simple Authentication Script3.3.1. XUL Input Widgets3.3.1.1. Modifying node styles3.3.1.2. Removing and adding document nodes3.4. When Things Don’t Work3.4.1. Looking for the Obvious: Bad Typing3.4.1.1. The JavaScript console3.4.2. Programming and Design Errors3.4.2.1. The console dump( ) command3.4.2.2. The Venkman debugger3.4.2.3. The DOM Inspector3.5. Summary
4. Configuring for Chrome and a Server
4.1. Chrome Overview4.2. Running as a Local Installation4.2.1. Chrome Directory Structure4.2.2. Package Registration4.3. XUL-to-Server Communications4.3.1. Configuring the Server4.3.2. The Client/Server Protocol4.3.2.1. The client-side request4.3.2.2. The server-side response4.3.3. When Things Go Wrong4.3.4. Adding a Database4.3.4.1. Creating the database4.3.4.2. Creating account tables4.3.4.3. Creating database user accounts4.3.4.4. Connecting PHP to MySQL4.3.4.5. Calling the MySQLi API4.3.5. When Things Go Wrong4.4. Serving XUL Files4.4.1. Creating a XUL File to Be Served4.4.2. Configuring the Server4.4.3. PHP Serving XUL4.4.3.1. Using PHP require( )4.4.3.2. PHP serving XUL files4.4.3.3. Logic changes4.5. Summary
5. Multiframe XUL
5.1. Dividing the Display Area5.2. Editing Documents5.2.1. HTML Documents, Windows, and iframes5.2.2. XUL Documents, Windows, and iframes5.2.3. XUL Windows and Content Type5.2.4. Other Content Panels5.2.4.1. <editor>5.2.4.2. <browser>5.2.5. Dealing with Events5.2.5.1. Event phases5.2.6. Synchronizing Interface Widgets and Frames5.2.6.1. Adding state transitions5.2.6.2. An event handler too many5.2.6.3. Event generation: XUL events and HTML events5.2.6.4. Responding to the “right” event target5.2.6.5. Managing events in iframes5.2.7. Adding Pull-Down Menus5.2.7.1. Operating system caveats5.3. Adding Dialog Windows5.4. Summary
6. Trees, Templates, and Datasources
6.1. Trees6.1.1. Tree Structure6.1.2. Different Types of Tree Content6.1.3. Selecting Tree Items6.1.4. Multiple Selections6.1.4.1. Parsing ranges6.1.5. Templates and RDF (Simple View)6.1.5.1. RDF tags and attributes6.1.5.2. Templates (simple form)6.1.5.3. Hierarchical output6.1.5.4. Adding rules6.1.6. More Complex Templates6.1.6.1. Formal RDF terminology6.1.6.1.1. Conditions6.1.6.1.2. Actions6.1.7. Using Templates for Conditional Processing6.1.7.1. IDs and URIs6.1.7.2. Template forms: Summary6.2. Modifying Datasources6.2.1. RDF Statements: A Closer Look6.2.2. RDF Interfaces and Services6.2.3. RDF Datasource Details6.2.3.1. Accessing datasources6.2.3.2. Modifying datasources: Creating and removing RDF statements6.2.3.3. Modifying containers6.2.3.4. Removing resources and containers6.2.4. Moving to Code6.2.4.1. Adding dialogs6.2.5. Tying Everything Together6.3. Summary
7. DOM Manipulation and Input/Output
7.1. A Design Review7.2. Browser Elements7.2.1. Properties and Native Wrappers7.2.2. Selection and Range Objects7.2.3. Manipulating Selections and Ranges7.3. Moving Text Between Frames7.4. Exporting Note Document Content7.4.1. File Services7.4.1.1. Selecting a destination file7.4.1.2. Writing document content to a file7.4.1.3. Reading document content from a file7.4.2. Emailing Note Document Contents7.4.2.1. Mixing XUL and HTML7.4.2.2. Synthesizing DOM events7.4.2.3. Clearing content7.5. Adding Interactivity to DOM Elements7.6. Summary
8. Graphics
8.1. A Sample Graphing Project8.2. XHTML Review8.2.1. Combining XHTML and SVG Namespaces8.2.1.1. File type and content type8.2.1.2. DOCTYPE and validation8.3. SVG Overview8.3.1. SVG Drawing8.3.2. Appearance Properties8.3.3. Graphical Elements8.3.4. Transform, Translate, and Scale8.4. Data-to-Graphics Transformation8.4.1. Using XSLT8.4.1.1. The source document8.4.1.2. A transformation stylesheet8.4.1.3. The resulting XHTML file8.4.2. Style Information8.4.3. Adding Interactivity8.5. HTML Canvas8.5.1. Canvas Drawing8.5.1.1. Program algorithm8.5.1.2. Text8.5.2. Program Code8.6. Summary

9. Extending the Interface
9.1. Overlay Files9.1.1. Overlay File Structure9.1.1.1. Element positioning9.1.1.2. Dynamic loading9.1.2. Overlays and the Browser9.2. Adding Logic9.3. XBL9.3.1. XBL Structure9.3.2. XBL Content9.3.2.1. Passing attributes to XBL content9.3.3. Implementation9.3.3.1. Anonymous content9.3.4. Event Handlers9.3.5. An Expanded Example9.4. HTTP Request Widget9.4.1. Extending Bindings9.5. Summary
10. XForms
10.1. Basic XForms Structure10.2. An Example Transfer to the Server10.2.1. The Stylesheet10.2.2. The Server Script10.2.3. An Overview of an XForms Document10.2.4. XForms Controls10.3. XForms Validation Features10.3.1. Pseudoclasses and Conditional Styling10.3.1.1. Pseudoclasses10.3.1.2. Required entries10.3.1.3. Data validation10.3.2. Beyond Styling: Manipulating Content and Structure10.3.2.1. Calculating field values10.3.2.2. Relevant and conditional appearance10.3.3. User Interface Elements10.3.4. Repeating Interface Markup10.4. XForms Events and Actions10.4.1. XML Events10.4.2. XForms Actions10.5. User Interaction and Dynamic Presentation10.5.1. Dynamic Insertion and Removal of Entries10.5.2. Changes in Form Structure10.6. What to Do When Things Go Wrong10.7. Summary
11. Installation and Deployment
11.1. Deploying Standalone Applications11.1.1. Chrome Registry Revisited11.1.2. XULRunner Applications11.1.2.1. Directory structure11.1.2.2. Downloading XULRunner11.1.2.3. XULRunner deployment package11.1.2.4. Hiworld in a directory11.1.2.5. Moving from directory to JAR file11.1.2.6. Building necessary startup files11.1.2.6.1. application.ini11.1.2.6.2. prefs.js11.1.2.6.3. chrome.manifest11.2. Deploying Themes and Skins11.2.1. File Structure11.2.2. Creating the Stylesheet11.2.3. Registering the Skin11.3. Adding Locales11.3.1. Setting Up for Locale Development11.3.2. Text String Mapping11.3.2.1. DTD and entity mapping11.3.2.2. Creating the entities11.3.2.3. Moving to JAR files11.4. Deploying Extensions11.4.1. Extension Interfaces: Overlays Revisited11.4.1.1. Filesystem implementation11.4.2. Locales and Scripting Variables11.4.2.1. String bundles11.4.2.2. String bundles in overlays11.5. Deploying the Extension11.5.1. Installation Manifest: install.rdf11.5.2. Extensions and the Manifest File11.5.3. Installing and Testing11.6. What to Do When Things Go Wrong11.6.1. Were the Files Installed?11.6.2. Chrome Problems11.6.3. Integration Problems11.6.4. Iterative Deployment11.7. Summary
12. XUL Widget Reference
12.1. Browser Package Files12.1.1. Following the Files12.2. Developer Reference12.2.1. JavaScript Widgets, Attributes, and Properties12.2.2. Component Interfaces12.2.3. Widget-Specific Attributes, Properties, and Methods12.2.3.1. Common attributes, properties, and methods12.2.4. Base XBL Bindings
XUL Widgets: Attributes, Properties, and Methods
About the Author
Colophon
Copyright

Overview

This is your guide to building Internet applications and user interfaces with the Mozilla component framework, which is best known for the Firefox web browser and Thunderbird email client. Programming Firefox demonstrates how to use the XML User Interface Language (XUL) with open source tools in the framework's Cross-Platform Component (XPCOM) library to develop a variety of projects, such as commercial web applications and Firefox extensions.

This book serves as both a programmer's reference and an in-depth tutorial, so not only do you get a comprehensive look at XUL's capabilities--from simple interface design to complex, multitier applications with real-time operations--but you also learn how to build a complete working application with XUL. If you're coming from a Java or .NET environment, you'll be amazed at how quickly large-scale applications can be constructed with XPCOM and XUL.

Topics in Programming Firefox include:

An overview of Firefox technology
An introduction to the graphical elements that compose a XUL application
Firefox development tools and the process used to design and build applications
Managing an application with multiple content areas
Introduction to Resource Description Files, and how the Firefox interface renders RDF
Manipulating XHTML with JavaScript
Displaying documents using the Scalable Vector Graphics standard and HTML Canvas
The XML Binding Language and interface overlays to extend Firefox
Implementing the next-generation forms interface through XForms

Programming Firefox is ideal for the designer or developer charged with delivering innovative standards-based Internet applications, whether they're web server applications or Internet-enabled desktop applications. It's not just a how-to book, but a what-if exploration that encourages you to push the envelope of the Internet experience.

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