I built on Mac OS X. Never could get Linux to work (issue with building python static vs. shared), didn't try windows. needed a 1 line patch to chandler's python build config. (see bug 3793: https://bugzilla.osafoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3793). And also some install_name_tool -change hacking to get lib_xpcom.dylib (= _xpcom.so) and libpyloader.dylib to link to the right library ... paths just weren't getting set up right at build time.

Discussion of these build issues: http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Mail/Message/pyxpcom/2787292

Started seamonkey & can run a simple test pyxpcom extension in the chrome

Started xpcshell and used a python-implemented XPCOM component similar to Alec's in PyXPCOMExperiments to get a python interpreter. Only difference was I needed to put more declarations in nsIChandler.idl:

#include "nsISupports.idl"

[scriptable, uuid(9d6499dd-61b4-4510-9f33-0ad4a6cf6f41)]
interface nsIChandler : nsISupports  {
      void start();
};

Note to self: remember to "../xpidl -m typelib -I../../../../sdk/idl idlfile.idl" inside components/ and then ./regxpcom when in doubt

Wrote script to set python & dynamic library paths -- ripped out of bottom of RunPython^?.

dist/SeaMonkeyDebug.app/Contents/MacOS% cat chandler-paths.sh              [21]
#!/bin/sh
export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:$CHANDLERHOME:$CHANDLERHOME/parcels
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$CHANDLERBIN/debug/lib:$CHANDLERBIN/debug/db/lib:$CHANDLERBIN/debug/icu/lib
export DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH=$CHANDLERBIN/debug/Library/Frameworks

"$@"

Launch for xpcshell is then

./chandler-paths.sh ./xpcshell

Got headless running:

from tools import headless
import sys; sys.argv = ['blabla']
headless.main()

Next step: make a simple/crude XUL JS -> Python bridge... need to pass event callbacks from js to python. Goal: make JS layer as thin as possible, not even UI logic there. maybe make a python xpcom component that can eval() strings. Alternative: make an xpcom object implemented in python and scriptable, and make all the necessary methods there, and have js just call whatever it needs to.

Goal: program XUL from python, with access to the repository

Further goal: try porting a CPIA class to XUL/SVG/HTML

Todo: get both svg & pyxpcom working on the same mozilla build, for nifty UI

-- BrendanOConnor - 20 Aug 2005