The release of Electron platform 23.0.0 has been prepared, which provides a standalone framework for developing cross-platform user applications based on components of Chromium, V8, and Node.js. The significant version change is due to the update to Chromium codebase 110, Node.js platform 18.12.1, and JavaScript engine V8 11.
Among the changes in the new release:
- Support for the WebUSB API has been added, allowing direct interaction with specialized peripheral devices connected via USB port. WebUSB enables interaction with USB devices without the need for installing specialized drivers by defining the logic for low-level interaction in the application.
- The Display object has been updated with a 'label' property, providing a textual label that clearly identifies the screen.
- The app.getPreferredSystemLanguages() API has been implemented to determine the languages selected in the system.
- A SerialPort.forget() method has been added, returning a Promise for handling the closure of the serial port, as well as the serial-port-revoked event, which is generated when access to the serial port is revoked after closing the connection.
- The win.setHiddenInMissionControl API has been added, allowing the application window to be hidden in the Mission Control interface on macOS systems.
- Deprecated events scroll-touch-begin, scroll-touch-end, and scroll-touch-edge have been removed from the BrowserWindow object, with the recommendation to use the input-event event in WebContents instead.
- Support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, as well as Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2, has been discontinued.
The Electron platform allows you to create any graphical applications using web technologies, with logic defined in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, and functionality that can be extended through a plugin system. Developers have access to Node.js modules as well as an extended API for creating native dialogs, integrating applications, creating context menus, integrating with the notification output system, window manipulation, and interaction with Chromium subsystems.
Unlike web applications, Electron-based programs are delivered as self-contained executable files that are not browser-dependent. Additionally, developers do not need to worry about porting the application to different platforms; Electron provides the ability to build for all systems supported in Chromium. Electron also offers tools for automating the delivery and installation of updates (updates can be delivered either from a separate server, or directly from GitHub).
Notable programs built on the Electron platform include the Atom editor, Mailspring email client, Git management tool GitKraken, WordPress Desktop blogging system, BitTorrent client WebTorrent Desktop, as well as official clients for services like Skype, Signal, Slack, Basecamp, Twitch, Ghost, Wire, Wrike, Visual Studio Code, and Discord. In total, there are 734 applications listed in the Electron application catalog. A set of sample applications has been prepared to simplify the development of new applications, including code examples for tackling various tasks.
Source: opennet.ru
