Bundling plugins with Browse

[Erik Garrison]

On Tue, Dec 09, 2008 at 12:06:48AM +0000, Gary C Martin wrote:
> On 8 Dec 2008, at 19:29, Erik Garrison wrote:
>
>> On Tue, Dec 09, 2008 at 12:04:23AM +0530, Sayamindu Dasgupta wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>> We are trying to figure out a way to bundle the mozplugger plugin[1]
>>> in Browse, so that PDF files can be viewed from within Browse itself.
>>> Does anyone know how this can be done. Apart from the mozplugger
>>> plugin itself, we need to have the m4 binary to help mozplugger parse
>>> its config file, as well as the application which _actually_ renders
>>> the PDF.
>>> Normally we can modify the OS image, but it would be easier for us to
>>> include the entire thing in Browse and make a new Browse bundle.
>>> Any thoughts/ideas/comments ?
>>> Thanks,
>>> Sayamindu
>>
>> Why don't we just use Firefox?  It seems to run quite well on the XO.
>
> Run quite well, on what planet? It locks up the XOs tested here with  
> regularity, and is now on my 'don't bother testing' list (until there's 
> another attempt). It's a memory pig, it's still got a UI for  
> nerds/geeks, and does not integrate well with the rest of Sugar (no  
> Journal entries/resuming, ghost frame icons).

It's just about the only non-sugar application I use on the XO in my
personal time.  I use it a lot.  I can open a dozen pages in tabs
without slowdown.  I can use Gmail with all its javascript goodies.
Many more tabs than that will induce vm swapping, which causes long
lockups which you describe.

Note that this is on debxo running a lightweight window manager.  I
forgot about the significant memory pressure induced by Sugar.  This of
course changes things.

If our need for these custom applications is fundamentally related to
problems with the framework in which they run, and not the hardware,
then perhaps there is a big win waiting on the other side of a redesign
of that framework.

Erik