Embeding the Gecko engine in Python applications

Python, Windows, cookbook

I've got to deploy a new desktop based application, created, of course, with Zope 3. When you've got a hammer, everything looks like a nail, indeed. This application uses HTML and CSS as its presentation layer (right, it's a web page), with a bit of Ajax thrown in. Due do time constraints, I'm not even trying to get it to work properly on Internet Explorer (although it looks about 90% right, but I have some problems with Javascript), so I won't be embeding the Internet Explorer this time engine in my Python application, I'll just try to get the Gecko rendering engine, the one used in Firefox.

First, I've installed the ActiveX control for the Gecko engine. Following some ActiveX migration details on wxpython.org, I've generated a wxpython "binding" class, using the genaxmodule.py tool (after a quick dig in the Windows registry to find out which is the Mozilla control class name):

C:\Python24\Lib\site-packages\wx-2.6-msw-unicode\wx\tools>genaxmodule.py "Mozilla.Browser" Gecko
Creating module in: .\Gecko.py
  ProgID:   Mozilla.Browser.1
  CLSID:    {1339B54C-3453-11D2-93B9-000000000000}

The python code would that would use the ActiveX control would be something like this:

# -*- coding: ISO-8859-1 -*-
# generated by wxGlade 0.4.1cvs on Sat Mar 10 16:40:22 2007 from C:\Work\CourseBuilder.wxg

import wx
import Gecko

def createGeckoControl(parent, id):
    gecko = Gecko.Gecko(parent, id)
    return gecko

# begin wxGlade: dependencies
# end wxGlade

class MainFrame(wx.Frame):
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwds):
        # begin wxGlade: MainFrame.__init__
        kwds["style"] = wx.DEFAULT_FRAME_STYLE
        wx.Frame.__init__(self, *args, **kwds)
        self.panel_1 = wx.Panel(self, -1)
        self.gecko = createGeckoControl(self.panel_1, -1)

        self.__set_properties()
        self.__do_layout()
        # end wxGlade
        self.gecko.SetFocus()
        self.gecko.Navigate2('http://slashdot.org', 0)

    def __set_properties(self):
        # begin wxGlade: MainFrame.__set_properties
        self.SetTitle("frame_1")
        # end wxGlade

    def __do_layout(self):
        # begin wxGlade: MainFrame.__do_layout
        sizer_1 = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
        sizer_2 = wx.BoxSizer(wx.HORIZONTAL)
        sizer_2.Add(self.gecko, 1, wx.EXPAND, 0)
        self.panel_1.SetSizer(sizer_2)
        sizer_1.Add(self.panel_1, 1, wx.EXPAND, 0)
        self.SetSizer(sizer_1)
        sizer_1.Fit(self)
        self.Layout()
        # end wxGlade

# end of class MainFrame

And the main app file:

#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: ISO-8859-1 -*-
# generated by wxGlade 0.4.1cvs on Sat Mar 10 16:40:22 2007 from C:\Work\CourseBuilder.wxg

import wx
from MainFrame import MainFrame

class CourseBuilderApp(wx.App):
    def OnInit(self):
        wx.InitAllImageHandlers()
        main_frame = MainFrame(None, -1, "")
        self.SetTopWindow(main_frame)
        main_frame.Show()
        return 1

# end of class CourseBuilderApp

if __name__ == "__main__":
    CourseBuilderBrowser = CourseBuilderApp(0)
    CourseBuilderBrowser.MainLoop()

Unfortunately I hit a problem that I can't find a solution for: this application crashes when I type something in the Gecko window. Blah :-( If anyone reading this know the answer, help me! :) Please! (tibi@life.org.ro)

My only option left is to go for the XULRunner and the MyBrowser demo. I'm not extremely happy about this, but at this point I don't see other options. Plus, it will be fun learning some about the Mozilla development platform.

Update: I've tested the Mozilla ActiveX Control using a simple Delphi 7 form and, while I don't get a crash, I still can't get it to accept keyboard input.