59 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
59 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
# Introduction
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Welcome to the Electron documentation! If this is your first time developing
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an Electron app, read through this Getting Started section to get familiar with the
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basics. Otherwise, feel free to explore our guides and API documentation!
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## What is Electron?
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Electron is a framework for building desktop applications using JavaScript,
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HTML, and CSS. By embedding [Chromium][chromium] and [Node.js][node] into its
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binary, Electron allows you to maintain one JavaScript codebase and create
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cross-platform apps that work on Windows, macOS, and Linux — no native development
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experience required.
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## Prerequisites
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These docs operate under the assumption that the reader is familiar with both
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Node.js and general web development. If you need to get more comfortable with
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either of these areas, we recommend the following resources:
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* [Getting started with the Web (MDN)][mdn-guide]
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* [Introduction to Node.js][node-guide]
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Moreover, you'll have a better time understanding how Electron works if you get
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acquainted with Chromium's process model. You can get a brief overview of
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Chrome architecture with the [Chrome comic][comic], which was released alongside
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Chrome's launch back in 2008. Although it's been over a decade since then, the
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core principles introduced in the comic remain helpful to understand Electron.
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## Running examples with Electron Fiddle
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[Electron Fiddle][fiddle] is a sandbox app written with Electron and supported by
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Electron's maintainers. We highly recommend installing it as a learning tool to
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experiment with Electron's APIs or to prototype features during development.
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Fiddle also integrates nicely with our documentation. When browsing through examples
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in our tutorials, you'll frequently see an "Open in Electron Fiddle" button underneath
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a code block. If you have Fiddle installed, this button will open a
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`fiddle.electronjs.org` link that will automatically load the example into Fiddle,
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no copy-pasting required.
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## Getting help
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Are you getting stuck anywhere? Here are a few links to places to look:
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* If you need help with developing your app, our [community Discord server][discord]
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is a great place to get advice from other Electron app developers.
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* If you suspect you're running into a bug with the `electron` package, please check
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the [GitHub issue tracker][issue-tracker] to see if any existing issues match your
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problem. If not, feel free to fill out our bug report template and submit a new issue.
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[chromium]: https://www.chromium.org/
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[node]: https://nodejs.org/
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[mdn-guide]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Getting_started_with_the_web
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[node-guide]: https://nodejs.dev/learn
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[comic]: https://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/
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[fiddle]: https://electronjs.org/fiddle
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[issue-tracker]: https://github.com/electron/electron/issues
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[discord]: https://discord.gg/electron
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