Project Introduction of WebUI
WebUI offers an innovative approach to developing graphical user interfaces (GUIs) by harnessing the power of modern web technologies and web browsers. This project aims to simplify the process of building UIs, making it more accessible and efficient for developers. By utilizing any web browser or WebView as a GUI, it allows developers to use their preferred programming language for backend development, ensuring both flexibility and modernity.
Features
WebUI distinguishes itself with several key features:
- Portability: The tool requires only a web browser or WebView at runtime, ensuring that applications remain light and easily portable across different systems.
- Lightweight Design: With a library size of only a few kilobytes, it has a minimal memory footprint, optimizing performance.
- Fast Communication: It employs a rapid binary communication protocol to enhance efficiency.
- Multi-platform and Multi-browser Compatibility: It works seamlessly across different operating systems and web browsers.
- Security: The utilization of a private profile ensures application safety.
- Cross-platform Support: By using a WebView, it maintains versatility across multiple operating platforms.
User Interface (UI) and Web Technologies
Web technologies in UI design are not just aesthetic but functional. WebUI leverages HTML5 in web browsers to create GUIs. This approach not only modernizes the product's look but also its functionality, facilitating a positive first impression, aiding lead nurturing, and improving user conversions by making navigation intuitive and straightforward.
Why Use Web Browsers?
Web browsers today encapsulate all that a contemporary UI needs - they are sophisticated, fast, and resource-efficient. Utilizing a web browser as a GUI provides comprehensive features that outdated GUI libraries lack. WebView, although an option, requires significant dependencies to function. WebUI answers this by employing real web browsers, maximizing capacity while keeping applications lightweight and portable.
How Does it Work?
Unlike traditional methods that embed the WebView controller, increasing the final program's size and restricting portability, WebUI uses a compact library to run any installed web browser as a GUI. This means developers can create small, fast, and portable applications with the only requirement being an installed web browser.
Runtime Dependencies Comparison
Here's how WebUI stacks up against other solutions:
| Tauri / WebView | Qt | WebUI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | WebView2 | QtCore, QtGui,... | A Web Browser |
| Linux | GTK3, WebKitGTK | QtCore, QtGui,... | A Web Browser |
| macOS | Cocoa, WebKit | QtCore, QtGui,... | A Web Browser |
Documentation and Building
WebUI provides documentation and build instructions for various platforms, highlighting its adaptability:
- Documentation is being curated currently, with resources available for both C and C++ developers.
- Build commands are provided for Windows, Linux, and macOS, facilitating straightforward integration of WebUI into different environments, with optional SSL/TLS setup directions.
Wrappers and Examples
WebUI supports a range of language wrappers, showcasing its versatility. Some languages with available wrappers for the newer versions include Python, Go, Zig, Nim, and others. Examples are provided in C and C++ to guide developers in integrating WebUI into their projects.
Supported Browsers and WebView
WebUI is compatible with a broad spectrum of popular web browsers across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Additionally, it supports different WebView implementations on these systems, ensuring broad functionality and applicability.
Conclusion
WebUI presents a straightforward yet powerful approach to GUI design, leveraging the ubiquity and power of web browsers to deliver efficient, modern applications. Licensed under the MIT License, it remains accessible for a wide array of development needs, promoting an intuitive integration of web technologies into application design.