Cross-Platform Desktop Applications : Using Node, Electron, and NW.js

**Summary** __Cross-Platform Desktop Applications__ guides you step-by-step through creating Node.js desktop applications with NW.js and Electron from GitHub. Foreword by Cheng Zhao, creator of Electron. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. **About the Technology** Desktop application development has traditionally required high-level programming languages and specialized frameworks. With Electron and NW.js, you can apply your existing web dev skills to create desktop applications using only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. And those applications will work across Windows, Mac, and Linux, radically reducing development and training time. **About the Book** __Cross-Platform Desktop Applications__ guides you step by step through the development of desktop applications using Electron and NW.js. This example-filled guide shows you how to create your own file explorer, and then steps through some of the APIs provided by the frameworks to work with the camera, access the clipboard, make a game with keyboard controls, and build a Twitter desktop notification tool. You'll then learn how to test your applications, and debug and package them as binaries for various OSs. **What's Inside** * Create a selfie app with the desktop camera * Learn how to test Electron apps with Devtron * Learn how to use Node.js with your application **About the Reader** Written for developers familiar with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. **About the Author** **Paul Jensen** works at Starcount and lives in London, UK. **Table of Contents** PART 1 - WELCOME TO NODE.JS DESKTOP APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT2. Introducing Electron and NW.js 3. Laying the foundation for your first desktop application 4. Building your first desktop application 5. Shipping your first desktop application PART 2 - DIVING DEEPER7. Using Node.js within NW.js and Electron 8. Exploring NW.js and Electron's internals PART 3 - MASTERING NODE.JS DESKTOP APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT10. Controlling how your desktop app is displayed 11. Creating tray applications 12. Creating application and context menus 13. Dragging and dropping files and crafting the UI 14. Using a webcam in your application 15. Storing app data 16. Copying and pasting contents from the clipboard 17. Binding on keyboard shortcuts 18. Making desktop notifications PART 4 - GETTING READY TO RELEASE20. Testing desktop apps 21. Improving app performance with debugging 22. Packaging the application for the wider world It's tedious and time-consuming to create OS-specific versions of every desktop application, especially with different set of tools for each platform. NW.js radically simplifies desktop development, providing a true cross-platform development stack built on HTML, CSS and JavaScript, Node.js modules, and the Chrome Blink engine. NW.js applications interact with the host operating system just like any other platform-native project, so developers have full access to all local files and resources. The performance is great, and best of all, it saves developers time because they only have to write one version of their application. Cross-Platform Desktop Applications guides readers step-by-step as they learn to develop NW.js desktop applications that run on Windows, OSX and Linux. They begin by getting the big picture of what NW.js can (and can't) do. Readers test drive NW.js as they build their first desktop application. Next, they find out how to take advantage of OS- specific features like menus, system-tray apps, clipboards, and the file system. Along the way, this book teaches how to debug errors and diagnose performance bottlenecks with NW.j's browser developer tools, package an application as a standalone executable for each OS, and even distribute it to various app stores. The book gives developers the inspiration and skills they need to code pro quality desktop applications using the web languages they already know. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.