Home › Forums › Linux Support › Programming ›

How to open the default web browser from in C?

Dec 04, 2008  By tananaBrian
 in

Hi,

We're planning on switching to using HTML help for some of our software ...but I don't know how to open a web browser from within an application. Here's the particulars and the challenge:

We program entirely in C, using GTK+, and release linux AND Windoze releases. Currently, the Linux side opens a window with help text in it (no active links!!) and on the Windoze side, we use the MS help system (compiled help files, .chm etc).

I assume that opening a browser from a Windoze app isn't so hard ...the default browser is probably available from the registry and no big deal to find and then make a system call.

For Linux however, noting that we use RedHat, Ubuntu, Suze, and CentOS, I don't know how to determine what the default web browser (and path) so I can call it with a system call... Anyone? I know that one option is to use a layout engine like GtkHTML, but we'd really like to just call a web browser instead...

Thanks,
Brian

‹ Sekhon Informatics - Ajax, PHP, Joomla, Web 2.0, My SQL Dig news in phpfox mod ›
Webcast
More Resources
How to Build an Optimal Hadoop Cluster to Store and Maintain Unlimited Amounts of Data Using Microservers

Realizing the promise of Apache® Hadoop® requires the effective deployment of compute, memory, storage and networking to achieve optimal results. With its flexibility and multitude of options, it is easy to over or under provision the server infrastructure, resulting in poor performance and high TCO. Join us for an in depth, technical discussion with industry experts from leading Hadoop and server companies who will provide insights into the key considerations for designing and deploying an optimal Hadoop cluster.

Learn More

Sponsored by AMD

White Paper
More Resources
Private PaaS for the Agile Enterprise

If you already use virtualized infrastructure, you are well on your way to leveraging the power of the cloud. Virtualization offers the promise of limitless resources, but how do you manage that scalability when your DevOps team doesn’t scale? In today’s hypercompetitive markets, fast results can make a difference between leading the pack vs. obsolescence. Organizations need more benefits from cloud computing than just raw resources. They need agility, flexibility, convenience, ROI, and control.

Stackato private Platform-as-a-Service technology from ActiveState extends your private cloud infrastructure by creating a private PaaS to provide on-demand availability, flexibility, control, and ultimately, faster time-to-market for your enterprise.

Learn More

Sponsored by ActiveState