Chapter 15
Embedding the WebKit Browser
Other GUI toolkits let you use HTML for presenting information, from limited HTML renderers (e.g., Java/Swing and wxWidgets) to embedding Internet Explorer into .NET applications. Android is much the same, in that you can embed the built-in web browser as a widget in your own activities, for displaying HTML or full-fledged browsing. The Android browser is based on WebKit, the same engine that powers web browsers such as Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome.
The Android browser is sufficiently complex that it gets its own Java package (android.webkit). Using the WebView widgetitself can be simple or powerful, based on your requirements.
A Browser, Writ Small
For simple stuff, WebView is not significantly ...
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