Accessing native c functions from javascript

Question

I have a javascript application which will be running on an embedded platform. It has to call some c APIs which are already implemented in the platform. This is a proprietary application and is meant to run only on selected devices.
I am running this application on webkit. There is no JVM available.
I am thinking of some options and got a few. I would like to know whether any of them are applicable or a better option. I am new to javascript so my ideas may not be right.

Something similar to JNI ( if this exists at all)
Develop a plugin for webkit which exposes some Javascript APIs to the application and then calls native c functions
Modify webkit

MByD · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-02 09:18:43Z

3

Your 2nd suggestion is pretty close to what you need to do. When you compile the browser (you don't need to compile webkit yourself) you can register functions and objects.

If you are using Qt, you should probably start here.

If you are using GTK, the registration is different, here is a nice example.

answered Apr 2, 2013 at 9:18

MByD

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2 Comments

bobby Over a year ago

Wont using the QT approach limit the platform ( I understand chrome doesnt support QT). Would something like NPAPI be a better option?

MByD Over a year ago

@jogabonito - QT is a cross platform framework. And the fact that chrome doesn't use it is not going to change it. As mentioned in my answer, the solution I gave is relevant only if you build the browser.

user871199 · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-04 21:27:55Z

0

One approach you might want to explore is script alert handler. I know webkit gtk supports it http://webkitgtk.org/reference/webkitgtk/stable/webkitgtk-webkitwebview.html#WebKitWebView-script-alert

You can have simple javascript alert on your webview and parse parameter on other side and then call the required function. Of course, if you have complex parameters (e.g. objects) which can not be translated to strings easily, this approach will be difficult to implement.

Only problem is I don't know if this functionality is supported on your platform since you did not mention the platform, there is no way for me to check.

answered Apr 4, 2013 at 21:27

user871199

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