PowerChrome is a portable chromium-base web browser to enable fast and easy development of desktop applications using HTML and JavaScript.
With PowerChrome, you can quickly and easily write and run your own desktop applications, providing a seamless user experience for your users.
HTML is great for UI, and JavaScript is awesome for coding. However, developing web-base program for desktop is somehow frustrated experience as web browser revoke all accessibility of local resources. End-user will not understand why your program cannot access printer, open a file, run another program or access database. You are hacking problems with hands and legs tied up.
I had longed for a web browser which has DB connectivity and OS accessibility, so that can coding JavaScript/HTML/CSS application like Electron. so thankful that have chance to make one.
PowerChrome provides a natural approach to HTML and JavaScript application development.
It enables HTML pages to access the window shell, file system, and database, and provides
additional application services by PowerChrome JavaScript Interface in sync mode.
For example,
- Call notepad.exe:
pb.run('notepad.exe') - Execute a file:
pb.shell('calc.exe') - Copy a file:
pb.fileCopy(sourceFile, targetFile) - Connect to Oracle database:
pb.dbConnect('O90', dbParm, dbServer, logID, logPass) - Run SQL query (in sync mode):
rsStr = pb.dbQuery('select * from tablename') - Run SQL and convert results to JSON:
rs = JSON.parse(pb.dbQuery(sql)) - Get HTML source (in sync mode):
rs = pb.httpSource('https://hacker-news.firebaseio.com/v0/item/160705.json') - Popup an HTML dialog:
pb.popup('sample-dialog.html', {width: 1024, height: 700})
- Portable - no installation required
- Chromium-based - can use Chrome/Chromium for testing and debugging
- HTML as the application format and JavaScript ES6 for programming
- API runs in sync mode - no callback or promise objects
- Simple console support
- Cloud-app enabled
- Run on Windows 7/8/10/11
- Download powerchrome-0.62-with-runtime.zip and unzip the all-in-one package.
- Run
powerchrome.exe. powerchrome.htmlwill be loaded to demonstrate how PowerChrome works with an HTML desktop application.
PowerChrome loads the startup page using the following sequence:
- Commandline options:
/app={startup.html} - INI config in the [system] section:
start={startup.html} index.htmlpowerchrome.html
After the page is loaded, powerchrome.js will be imported to initialize the interface,
then call the JavaScript function onPageLoaded().
To start coding, simply create an index.html file and write your code in any text editor.
The following files are included in the downloaded package powerchrome-0.62-with-runtime.zip
| File Name | Deploy | Description |
|---|---|---|
| powerchrome.exe | yes | PowerChrome program |
| powerchrome.js | yes | JavaScript interface |
| powerchrome.ini | no | INI config file (optional, recommended for development only) |
| powerchrome.html | no | Default HTML program. it is API quick reference |
| powerchrome.pbl | no | Source code of Powerbuilder (2019R3) |
| sample*.* | no | Sample files (HTML and MS Access Database) |
| *.dll | yes | Powerbuilder-Runtime Libraries |
| .\pbcef | yes | chromium (cef) |
PowerChrome is a single execution file (powerchrome.exe), only powerchrome.exe, powerchrome.js
and Powerbuilder-Runtime are required. The other files are optional or depends on usage.
powerchrome.exe /app={startup.html} /fullscreen /script={interface.js} /save={name.html} /save={name.pdf} /select={selector}
- specify application startup page by
/app={startup.html}or/url={startup.html} - open application in fullscreen by
/fullscreenor/kiosk - use customized interface script by
/script={interface.js} - crawl page by css-selector, and save to HTML file
/url={link} /save={name.html} /css=selector - print page to PDF file
/url={link} /save={name.pdf}
PowerChrome will run in cloud-mode when the startup link start with https:// or http://.
In cloud mode, PowerChrome-JavaScript-Interface is available for the URL in SAME DOMAIN.
for example, run chromechrome.exe for web-application:
powerchrome.exe /app=https://casualwriter.github.io/powerchrome/powerchrome.html
API will only available for URL start with https://casualwriter.github.io/powerchrome/.
If navigate to another domain, PowerChrome works like normal chromium browser.
still working on Documentation at https://casualwriter.github.io/powerchrome
- 2022/12/01, release version v0.56
- 2022/12/09, release v0.60, implement security for cloud mode.
- 2023/01/10, v0.62, bug fixed. update documents