Browser ("netscape") plugin on Mac OS X

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Peter - 24 Jan 2006 12:46 GMT

Hi,

I need to create a browser plugin that works on Netscape, FireFox,
Safari and Internet Explorer on Mac OS X (10.2 and up).

I have already created a netscape plugin on Windows and have the NPAPI
SDK 4.01a.

What I want to know is:

1. Should I use the CFM format (with the target browsers and OS version
in mind)?

2. Is MPW or CodeWarrior the only way to create CFM files? I read GCC
and XCode were unable to create CFM files.

3. Is it ok to install MPW on a machine with XCode already installed
(or will this mess things upp)?

4. Can anyone supply a makefile or complete sample project that builds
a netscape plugin on Mac OS X? (with or without CFM/MPW)

Thanks in advance,

Peter

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Eric Albert - 24 Jan 2006 18:33 GMT

> I need to create a browser plugin that works on Netscape, FireFox,
> Safari and Internet Explorer on Mac OS X (10.2 and up).
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> 1. Should I use the CFM format (with the target browsers and OS version
> in mind)?

If you use CFM, your plug-in won't run natively on Apple's new
Intel-based Macs. Mach-O and universal binaries are the best way to go
for compatibility with new systems.

> 2. Is MPW or CodeWarrior the only way to create CFM files? I read GCC
> and XCode were unable to create CFM files.

That's right.

> 3. Is it ok to install MPW on a machine with XCode already installed
> (or will this mess things upp)?

It'll be fine.

-Eric

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Eric Albert ejalbert@cs.stanford.edu
http://outofcheese.org/

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Peter - 25 Jan 2006 09:04 GMT

> > 1. Should I use the CFM format (with the target browsers and OS version
> > in mind)?

> If you use CFM, your plug-in won't run natively on Apple's new
> Intel-based Macs. Mach-O and universal binaries are the best way to go
> for compatibility with new systems.

I understand that Mach-O is the way to go for newer systems, but I want
to be compatible with older browsers too. However, I don't know which
browsers supports which format. Generally I want to work with standard
browsers (Mozilla, FireFox, Netscape, Internet Explorer and Safari)
that were around at the time of Mac OS X 10.2 and up. Several places on
the internet it is advised to "stick with CFM", as this is the most
compatible option.

Now I see that perhaps I need to make two plugins, one in each format.
But I really would want more information on which browsers supports
which format before I make the final decision.

Thanks in advance,

Peter

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Eric Albert - 26 Jan 2006 04:40 GMT

> > > 1. Should I use the CFM format (with the target browsers and OS version
> > > in mind)?
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> But I really would want more information on which browsers supports
> which format before I make the final decision.

I'd suggest asking this on Apple's web-dev mailing list:
<http://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/web-dev>

-Eric

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Eric Albert ejalbert@cs.stanford.edu
http://outofcheese.org/

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Mac Forum / Programming / Mac Programming / January 2006

Browser ("netscape") plugin on Mac OS X