Why is libcef included in standalone?

[Mark Waddingham]

On 2017-07-18 18:07, Dan Friedman via use-livecode wrote:
> Using LC 8.1.5, I have unchecked “Browser (CEF)” option in the
> “Inclusions” section of the “Standalone Application Settings”.
> However, libcef.dll is still included in the standalone build on
> Windows.  It is not included in the build for OSX.  Am I right that
> this dll is solely for the use of the Browser Widget?  If so, can I
> simply delete it from the build?  Are there associated files I should
> also remove?

libcef.dll is used by both revBrowser and the browser widget - so if you 
have either checked it will be included.

If you aren't using the browser widget nor revBrowserOpenCEF then you 
should be able to remove it without harm.

> In my opinion, why add this ridiculously large dll (46.4MB!) when you
> can simply use revBrowserOpen and get the same results?  Am I missing
> something here?

If you use revBrowserOpen on Windows then you get (embedded) Internet 
Explorer - which is fine if the stuff you are doing works in Internet 
Explorer.

CEF is a WebKit based browser, which is what you get on Android, iOS and 
Mac. This means that using CEF on Windows (its the only option on Linux) 
gives you something much more consistent across platforms.

Admittedly Edge is a lot better than IE was at standards-compliance. 
However, it is still *not* quite the same environment as any of the 
WebKit based ones.

So, if you are doing web-based things in your app and don't want to have 
to do (what can be a lot of) of work to ensure that everything works 
across all platforms; the 46.4Mb is a small price to pay IMHO.

Warmest Regards,

Mark.

-- 
Mark Waddingham ~ mark at livecode.com ~ http://www.livecode.com/
LiveCode: Everyone can create apps