README
1 Blink Public API 2 ================ 3 4 This directory contains the public API for Blink. The API consists of a number 5 of C++ header files, scripts, and GYP build files. We consider all other files 6 in Blink to be implementation details, which are subject to change at any time 7 without notice. 8 9 The primary consumer of this API is Chromium's Content layer. If you are 10 interested in using Blink, please consider interfacing with Blink via the 11 Content layer rather than interfacing directly with this API. 12 13 Compatibility 14 ------------- 15 16 The API does not support binary compatibility. Instead, the API is intended to 17 insulate the rest of the Chromium project from internal changes to Blink. Over 18 time, the API is likely to evolve in source-incompatible ways as Chromium's and 19 Blink's needs change. 20 21 Organization 22 ------------ 23 24 The API is organized into three parts: 25 26 - public/platform 27 - public/web 28 - public/testing 29 30 The public/platform directory defines an abstract platform upon which Blink 31 runs. Rather than communicating directly with the underlying operating system, 32 Blink is designed to run in a sandbox and interacts with the operating system 33 via the platform API. The central interface in this part of the API is 34 Platform, which is a pure virtual interface from which Blink obtains many other 35 interfaces. 36 37 The public/web directory defines an interface to Blink's implementation of the 38 web platform, including the Document Object Model (DOM). The central interface 39 in this part of the API is WebView, which is a good starting point for 40 exploring the API. 41 42 Note that public/platform should not depend on public/web. 43 44 The public/testing directory defines an interface for testing Blink. You can 45 use this part of the API to load the TestRunner module used in Blink's test 46 suite. 47 48 Basic Types 49 ----------- 50 51 The API does not use STL types, except for a small number of STL types that are 52 used internally by Blink (e.g., std::pair). Instead, we use WTF containers to 53 implement the API. 54 55 The API uses some internal types (e.g., WebCore::Node). Typically, these types 56 are forward declared and are opaque to consumers of the API. In other cases, 57 the full definitions are available behind the WEBKIT_IMPLEMENTATION 58 preprocessor macro. In both cases, we continue to regard these internal types 59 as implementation details of Blink, and consumers of the API should not rely 60 upon these types. 61 62 Similarly, the API uses STL types outside of the WEBKIT_IMPLEMENTATION 63 preprocessor macro, which is for the convenience of the consumer. 64 65 Contact Information 66 ------------------- 67 68 The public API also contains an OWNERS file, which lists a number of people who 69 are knowledgeable about the API. If you have questions or comments about the 70 API that might be of general interest to the Blink community at large, please 71 consider directing your inquiry to blink-dev (a] chromium.org rather than to the 72 OWNERS specifically. 73
