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DS development > building a webbrowser

#102078 - chrissieboy - Sun Sep 10, 2006 4:53 pm

Hi guys,

Im busy with building a web browser.

I just tried out Retawq on dslinux, this one is realy cool, and fast :)

But i'm using PaLib for building the browser, but when i try to download some text from a page it takes very very long.

It takes about 20 seconds to load 40 characters???

I also tried the demo from the wifi lib and this one seems to be much faster.

Am i doing something wrong with Palib, or is it just PaLib wich makes the transfers slow?

Sorry for my bad english im Dutch ;)

#102083 - Lick - Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:41 pm

It would help if you showed us some code and perhaps find out where the code is hanging the most in those 20 seconds.
Also, please keep in mind that the PALib forum is probably a better place to ask, since most people here don't use it, in my humble experience.
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#102489 - pas - Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:34 pm

@chrissieboy: Wow !!!!!!

WAY TO GO !

Uhm: BTW: Will your Webbrowser supporting only Text (like retawq) or will it be able to:

- Display images
- Display text
- Download stuff (maybe even from Rapidshare like sites ;) )
- ( I don't think this one is possible, but I ask anyway) playing swf's
- Playing mp3's

I think these things would reach ;)

Do you use FAT for storing the Website (the files from the Website) in the Card, maybe a specific Folder ?

I hope you keep up this:

Pas

#102523 - thundrestrike - Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:15 pm

ooh! a webbrowser!

I suggest a graphic-based browser!
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popcorn

#102528 - josath - Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:30 pm

I like how he asks a question about network transfers, and all everyone posts is "yayayaya i love web browsers, make it show pictures!!!omg!!!"

For what it's worth, I've had problems with slow network connections before on the DS, but not THAT slow. I would suggest building a simple non-palib app which just downloads the pages, and test the speed on that. Then you will know if the bugs are coming from palib or not.

#102889 - thundrestrike - Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:09 pm

any WIP updates on this, Chrissieboy?
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popcorn

#102896 - jester - Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:31 pm

yep any updates Chrissieboy?

Also Thundrestrike are you any good at making Game Menu's

#102901 - thundrestrike - Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:40 pm

jester wrote:
Also Thundrestrike are you any good at making Game Menu's

er, I have no coding experiance :D

back on topic!
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popcorn

#102910 - Drood - Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:04 pm

I just want Retawq to run on my M3. DSLinux flat out WILL NOT connect to my router, despite every other bit of wifi homebrew working... And Retawq was the main reason I wanted it...

So if you can get a version of Retawq outside of DSLinux so I can web browse, that'd be great!

#103511 - pas - Fri Sep 22, 2006 3:22 pm

@chrissiboy:

Sorry for being so: Wow...

I just was so happy...

I hope someone can help you with your problem...

Greets:

Pas

PS: I've heard that PA_lib's Wifi Support is not that good...

I would suggest you to code the Browser with either ndslib or in C,C++

#103602 - jester - Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:49 pm

ok thundrestrike thats ok and any updates?

#103977 - pas - Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:49 pm

@chrissiboy:
Is there a update, did you do something, had you no time, or don't you like to go any further with the project ?

#104005 - Extreme Coder - Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:00 pm

Looks like people are attracted like magnets the moment "graphical web browser on DS" is said:D

#104061 - OOPMan - Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:05 am

Let me see...

Can you say vaporware?

Building a high-grade web-browser with a proper layout engine is pretty hard work...
_________________
"My boot, your face..." - Attributed to OOPMan, Emperor of Eroticon VI

You can find my NDS homebrew projects here...

#104084 - El Hobito - Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:44 pm

unfortunately this project is almost certainly spurred by the fact that palib already contains the code to retrieve html from a web page, which for an overkeen newby can sometimes be too hard to resist.

#104091 - pas - Tue Sep 26, 2006 3:16 pm

@El Hobito:

I know you already did an Wifi App with PA_Lib. So why not help chrissyboy ? (Or at least ask him if he needs help ;) ? )

Hope ya think about it:

Pas

#104125 - TJ - Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:30 pm

Can I assume I am not the only one who has figured out this guy probably isn't coming back?

#104131 - pas - Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:40 pm

Maybe, I think I write him a PM or an E-mail right now...

Ok, I wrote him an E-mail, maybe he answers this thread now...

#104141 - El Hobito - Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:26 pm

pas wrote:
@El Hobito:

I know you already did an Wifi App with PA_Lib. So why not help chrissyboy ? (Or at least ask him if he needs help ;) ? )

Hope ya think about it:

Pas

its tempting, but i have enough on my plate right now. I have my tyrian project as well as working with engine its based on. After thats done i intend to work on wifi multiplayer and create a lobby system. Creating a text based web browser in palib would be reletively easy but messing around with using extended memory in the supercard/m3 is probably out of my league at this point.

Guys this project isnt going to happen, lets hope that the localized version of opera is good.

#104143 - OOPMan - Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:30 pm

Opera DS works pretty well, as long as you disable image loading.

However, with image loading it's a pain to use and just not worth the effort...

Kinda funny, hmmm ;-)
_________________
"My boot, your face..." - Attributed to OOPMan, Emperor of Eroticon VI

You can find my NDS homebrew projects here...

#104145 - Extreme Coder - Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:32 pm

I guess the reason its slow is that is uses the japanese servers of Opera which would be slow to access from here:)

#104155 - Sektor - Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:00 pm

The data isn't proxied through japan. If it's slow, blame the hardware and the code.
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#104158 - ghaxaq - Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:19 pm

If html is possible through PAlib or whatever..isn't it possible to make a text only browser and than add plugins such as image viewer etc later(moonshell source??). Retawq is not a standalone application, plus it has some limited functionality and lack of managability cause it does not use both screens although its fast. Maybe someone will get on working seriously later on.

#104161 - pas - Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:49 pm

Maybe...

#104165 - OOPMan - Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:11 pm

As sektor said, the data is not proxied via japan for Opera DS. You're confusing Opera DS with Opera Mini...

Opera DS works really well in text-only mode. It loads pages fast and maintains their visual layout perfectly in most cases.

Switch on image loading, however, and page loading and navigation takes a huge speed hit.

I think the basic truth is that the NDS doesn't doesn't pack to punch to run the Opera layout engine with all the bells and whistles...

That said, it is very nice in text mode :-)
_________________
"My boot, your face..." - Attributed to OOPMan, Emperor of Eroticon VI

You can find my NDS homebrew projects here...

#104173 - MaHe - Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:47 pm

El Hobito wrote:
unfortunately this project is almost certainly spurred by the fact that palib already contains the code to retrieve html from a web page, which for an overkeen newby can sometimes be too hard to resist.
Couldn't agree more: PA_ConnectWithWFC(); PA_GetHTTP(); PA_OutputSimpleText();

And yay, here's our browser -.-'
_________________
[ Crimson and Black Nintendo DS Lite | CycloDS Evolution | EZ-Flash 3-in-1 | 1 GB Transcend microSD ]

#104231 - chrissieboy - Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:22 am

HI guys i was looking at my email and saw a mail from pascal :)

About the webbrowser, my idea was very simple because a sample code of PALIB already downloads http code.

So i put in the graffity keyboard to enter an url, and then palib downloads the inputted url( by graffity keyboard)

It was very easy to build this step, but the download speed was very slow.

I build a php page with my name on it this was the code:

<html>
<body>
<b>chris</b>
</body>
</html>


My idea was to replace html command, so a code to check if there is <b> in front and </b> in the end of the sentence , my code must show bold code.
I also wanted to do this with tables, so <table> must start a table and so on.

But it takes very very long to download it.


So i had given up because real c++ programming is very very difficult for me.
But i downloaded a lot of tutorials and printed them, so i read for about a week.
I can programming c++ but not with pointers and things like that, so i wanted to learn advanced c++

But then i thought there are always people better then me (sgstair), so they must make a webbrowser, because i think if your expirenced c++, and knowing wifi like sgstair, he can build a webbrowser very quick.

So i have give up, because c++ is not realy my style (i think), im busy with c++ for couple of years now.
But not a full year learning, somethimes i want to programming something and then starting over again learning c++.
Then im getting boared and stop learning c++.

So maybe there comes a time im trying to make a webbrowser again, but when its that time, there will be more webbrowsers already published :)

Sorry guys!

#104415 - Payk - Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:25 pm

Well practise is the key. Learning and reading makes 5% effect to me. Trying and playing with variables can make mirracles :)

#104417 - El Hobito - Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:06 pm

to make it read normal html would be a piece of piss, although i've never done a html parser its not difficult. tbh i'd really like to make one so i can use xml (its pretty much the same principle) but none of my projects will require it. It might be worth porting libxml though.

#104440 - Firon - Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:42 am

OOPMan wrote:
I think the basic truth is that the NDS doesn't doesn't pack to punch to run the Opera layout engine with all the bells and whistles...


It could probably be a bit faster with some more optimization, but I wouldn't count on that. :P

#104487 - OOPMan - Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:56 pm

It's a bit late for optimisation Firon :-(
_________________
"My boot, your face..." - Attributed to OOPMan, Emperor of Eroticon VI

You can find my NDS homebrew projects here...