GUI Apps In Javascript Without A Browser?

I would like to use javascript to develop general-purpose GUI applications. Initially these are to run on Windows, but I would like them to ultimately be cross-platform. Is ther

Solution 1:

Check out Adobe AIR.

From Wikipedia:

Adobe AIR is a cross-platform runtime environment for building rich Internet applications using Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, HTML, or Ajax, that can be deployed as a desktop application.

Also check out Mozilla Prism (in beta).

Solution 2:

JsLibs

Today I came across this: http://code.google.com/p/jslibs/
(from DZone) JS Libs seems to meet my requirement. I'll have a look, and if I find that it's interesting, I'll post back here.

Solution 3:

You could try to combine something like SUN's Lively Kernel with Mozilla's Prism.

• Lively Kernel is a GUI Stack written entirely in JavaScript using SVG for display purposes.

• Prism is a way to launch web applications without showing the browser in which they run.

Very bleeding edge though, use at your own risk. :-)

Solution 4:

XUL Runner might be an answer, but I'm afraid I can't speak from experience.

Solution 5:

JScript .NET might be able to do it. It was intended for ASP .NET and .NET may not be cross platform the way you want it. However, more interest might create more development.

JScript .NET: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms974588.aspx