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
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.
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
24 The API is organized into three parts:
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
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
42 Note that public/platform should not depend on public/web.
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
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
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 BLINK_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
62 Similarly, the API uses STL types outside of the BLINK_IMPLEMENTATION
63 preprocessor macro, which is for the convenience of the consumer.
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@chromium.org rather than to the