Electron does use CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) as one of its core components. To understand the relationship between Electron and CEF, it’s important to have a basic understanding of what each of these technologies brings to the table.
CEF is an open-source framework that allows developers to embed the Chromium rendering engine into their applications. It provides a way to create desktop applications that can display web content using the same rendering engine that powers Google Chrome. CEF is written in C++ and offers bindings for various programming languages, including JavaScript.
Electron, on the other hand, is a framework that enables developers to build cross-platform desktop applications using web technologies. It combines the Chromium rendering engine, which is provided by CEF, with Node.js, a runtime environment for executing JavaScript code outside of a web browser. This combination of CEF and Node.js forms the foundation of the Electron framework.
In an Electron app, each window represents a Chromium window that renders a specific web page or HTML content. The GUI (Graphical User Interface) of Electron applications is built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, just like building a website. Electron provides APIs that allow developers to interact with the underlying operating system and access native functionalities.
So, to summarize, Electron leverages CEF to embed the Chromium rendering engine into desktop applications, which allows developers to create cross-platform apps using web technologies. By combining CEF with Node.js, Electron enables JavaScript developers to build rich and powerful desktop applications that can run on different operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Personal Experience:
As a developer who has worked with Electron, I have found it to be a powerful tool for building cross-platform desktop applications. The integration of CEF into Electron provides a seamless experience of rendering web content within the application’s windows. The ability to use familiar web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript makes it easier to develop and maintain the application codebase.
I have also appreciated the extensive documentation and community support available for Electron development. This has helped me overcome challenges and find solutions to various issues that I encountered during the development process. Additionally, the Electron ecosystem offers a wide range of plugins and libraries that can be easily integrated into applications, further enhancing their functionality.
The use of CEF in Electron has greatly contributed to its success as a popular framework for building desktop applications. It has allowed developers to leverage the power of Chromium in creating cross-platform apps while utilizing their existing web development skills.