BrowserAppBase

Windows and Linux browser-based desktop application templates.

On Linux, the Chrome browser is used by default.
On Windows, the Edge browser is used by default.

• Cross-platform browser-based desktop app template (Windows/Linux)
• Simple app generation command (create_browser_app)
• Flexible application settings via setting.json
• Communication between browser UI and Ruby backend
• RSpec-based test framework (from v0.1.9)
• Easy browser configuration for each OS

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'browser_app_base'

And then execute:

$ bundle install

Or install it yourself as:

$ gem install browser_app_base

create_browser_app [options]
 -d, --dir dir_name               application directory
 -a, --app app_name               application name
 -h, --help                       command help

$ create_browser_app -d /path/to/test/ -a MyApp

$ cd /path/to/test/
$ vi my_app.rb

class MyApp < AppMainBase
  def start(argv)
    super
    # add application code
  end

  def stop()
    super
    # add application code
  end
end

index.html
css/index.css
js/main.js

$ /path/to/test/bin/start_my_app.rb

Configure your browser for Windows or Linux.

${home}/${app_name}/config/browser.json

{
    "chrome_win": "start msedge",
    "chrome_win_": "start chrome",
    "chrome_linux": "/bin/google-chrome"
}

Use the send_message function.

main.js sample:

$("#exec").click(function () {
    send_message("exec:" + $("#upFile").val());
});

Use the app_send function.

my_app_sample.rb sample:

class MyApp < AppMainBase
  def start(argv)
    # popup message
    app_send("popup:message string")

    # log message
    yield "log message"
  end
end

You can add settings by modifying setting.json.

${home}/${app_name}/config/setting.json

Example (setting.json):

{
  "version": 0.1,
  "setting_list": [
    {
      "name": "name1",
      "value": "value1 2 3 4",
      "type": "input",
      "select": "",
      "description": "Setting item 1"
    },
    {
      "name": "name2",
      "value": true,
      "type": "checkbox",
      "select": "",
      "description": "Check to enable"
    },
    {
      "name": "name3",
      "value": "3",
      "type": "select",
      "select": [
        "1",
        "2",
        "3",
        "4",
        "5"
      ],
      "description": "Select item"
    },
    {
      "name": "name4",
      "value": "value4",
      "type": "input",
      "select": "",
      "description": "Setting item 4"
    },
    {
      "name": "name5",
      "value": "value5",
      "type": "input",
      "select": "",
      "description": "Setting item 5"
    },
    {
      "name": "name6",
      "value": "value6",
      "type": "input",
      "select": "",
      "description": "Setting item 6"
    },
    {
      "name": "jaon_area",
      "value": {
        "DEBUG": true,
        "VERSION": 1
      },
      "type": "textarea",
      "select": "",
      "description": "JSON string<br>Example:<br>{<br>  \"DEBUG\": true,<br>  \"VERSION\": 1<br>}"
    }
  ]
}

You can access the settings from your Ruby application like this:

class MyApp < AppMainBase
  def start(argv)
    # Access a setting value
    puts @config["name1"]
    # Access jaon_area as a hash
    p @config["jaon_area"] # => {"DEBUG"=>true, "VERSION"=>1}
  end
end

The jaon_area item in setting.json allows you to input a JSON string as a setting value.
This field is of type "textarea" and is intended for storing flexible, structured data such as additional configuration, flags, or custom parameters.

Example:

{
  "DEBUG": true,
  "VERSION": 1
}

• You can edit this field directly in the settings screen.
• The value must be valid JSON format.
• The application can parse and use this data as needed.

Use cases:

• Toggle debug mode ("DEBUG": true)
• Store version or environment information
• Save arbitrary key-value pairs for advanced configuration

How to use in your Ruby application: You can access the jaon_area value as a Ruby hash via @config["jaon_area"].
For example:

class MyApp < AppMainBase
  def start(argv)
    debug_mode = @config["jaon_area"]["DEBUG"]
    version = @config["jaon_area"]["VERSION"]
    puts "Debug mode: #{debug_mode}, Version: #{version}"
  end
end

Note:
Be sure to enter valid JSON. If the format is incorrect, the application may not be able to read the settings properly.

Tips:

• You can use jaon_area to store any structured data your application needs at runtime.
• This is useful for feature flags, environment-specific settings, or any advanced configuration that doesn't fit into a simple string or boolean value.

The following image shows the application's setting menu, where you can access and modify various configuration options.

Setting screen
This image displays the detailed setting screen, allowing you to edit individual configuration items.

From v0.1.9, RSpec-based testing is supported.
After installing dependencies, you can run tests with:

bundle install
bundle exec rake

or

bundle exec rspec

RSpec tasks are defined in the Rakefile, so rake will automatically run all tests.
Place your test code under the spec/ directory.

To install this gem onto your local machine, run bundle exec rake install.
To release a new version, update the version number in version.rb, and then run bundle exec rake release, which will create a git tag for the version, push git commits and the created tag, and push the .gem file to rubygems.org.

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/kuwayama1971/BrowserAppBase.

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.