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7d8f2243ae
* feat(website): sync documents and add content - Add a directory to the website - Update site navigation menu - Update site tagline(Emphasis on cross-platform) - Sync the changelog of the latest version to the website * docs: remove the `appendix` directory
73 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
73 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
---
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sidebar_position: 1
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---
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# Introduction
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## Overview
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Wails is a project that enables you to write desktop apps using Go and web technologies.
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Consider it a lightweight and fast Electron alternative for Go. You can easily build applications with the flexibility
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and power of Go, combined with a rich, modern frontend.
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Wails doesn't hold back with the eye candy either! This is [xbar](https://xbarapp.com) - a desktop application for MacOS
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written using Wails. It has menus, supports light and dark desktop themes, and the main window uses translucency that
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gives it that 'frosty' effect of a native app.
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<p class="text--center">
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<a href="https://xbarapp.com">
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<img src="/img/xbar-app-preview-2.png" width="75%" />
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</a>
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</p>
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## Native Elements
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Wails uses a purpose built library for handling native elements such as Window, Menus, Dialogs, etc, so you can build
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good-looking, feature rich desktop applications.
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**It does not embed a browser**, so it is resource efficient. Instead, it uses the native rendering engine for the
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platform. On Windows, this is the new Microsoft Webview2 library, built on Chromium.
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## Go & Javascript Interoperability
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Wails automatically makes your Go methods available to Javascript, so you can call them by name from your frontend!
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It even generates Typescript versions of the structs used by your Go methods, so you can pass the same data structures
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between Go and Javascript.
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## Runtime Library
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Wails provides a runtime library, for both Go and Javascript, that handles a lot of the things modern applications need,
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like Eventing, Logging, Dialogs, etc.
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## Live Development Experience
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### Automatic Rebuilds
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When you run your application in "dev" mode, Wails will build your application as a native desktop application, but will
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read your assets from disk. It will detect any changes to your Go code and automatically rebuild and relaunch your
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application.
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### Automatic Reloads
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When changes to your application assets are detected, your running application will "reload", reflecting your changes
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almost immediately.
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### Develop your application in a Browser
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If you prefer to debug and develop in a browser then Wails has you covered. The running application also has a webserver
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that will run your application in any browser that connects to it. It will even refresh when your assets change on disk.
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## Production-ready Native Binaries
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When you're ready to do the final build of your application, the CLI will compile it down to a single executable, with
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all the assets bundled into it. On Windows and MacOS, it is possible to create a native package for distribution. The
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assets used in packaging (icon, info.plist, manifest file, etc) are part of your project and may be customised, giving
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you total control over how your applications are built.
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## Tooling
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The Wails CLI provides a hassle-free way to generate, build and bundle your applications. It will do the heavy lifting
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of creating icons, compiling your application with optimal settings and delivering a distributable, production ready
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binary. Choose from a number of starter templates to get up and running quickly!
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