What is CharFlipper?

The CharFlipper example jumps through a lot of hoops to perform a simple task: it displays a series of characters specified in its source file. It jumps through so many hoops to demonstrate many different aspects of plugin development, including LiveConnect, EMBED tag parameters, cross-platform development with maximal code reuse, stream dispatching, and animation.

The CharFlipper example includes the TimeMediaPlugin java class, which is meant to be a reusable class with a standard interface for plugins that deal with time-media (animation, video, audio.)

Building and using CharFlipper

Win32/MSVC++ 4.0:

  1. In the Examples\CharFlipper\Windows directory, open the CharFlipper.mdp project workspace file.
  2. Select the "Build|Build NPFlip.dll" menu item.
  3. Copy the java class file Examples\CharFlipper\TimeMediaPlugin.class to the navigator plugins directory.
  4. Copy the plugin Examples\CharFlipper\Windows\NPFlip.dll to the navigator plugins directory.
  5. Quit and relaunch the Navigator, if it is running.
  6. With the Navigator (preferably 3.0b5 or above) open the file Examples\CharFlipper\Testing\CharFlipperExample.html.

PPC Mac/CodeWarrior 9:

  1. In the "Examples:CharFlipper:Macintosh" folder, open the CharFlipperPPC.µ project file.
  2. Select the "Project|Make" menu item.
  3. Copy the java class file "Examples:CharFlipper:TimeMediaPlugin.class" to "System Folder:Preferences:Netscape Ÿ:Java:netscape-classes". (In the next beta release it should be possible to simply place the class file in the plugins directory.)
  4. Copy the plugin (or an alias) "Examples:CharFlipper:CharFlipperPPC" to the navigator Plug-ins folder.
  5. Quit and relaunch the Navigator, if it is running.
  6. With the Navigator (preferably 3.0b5 or above) open the file "Examples:CharFlipper:Testing:CharFlipperExample.html".

68k Mac/CodeWarrior 9:

(note that LiveConnect does not function for 68k plugins)

  1. In the "Examples:CharFlipper:Macintosh" folder, open the CharFlipper68k.µ project file.
  2. Select the "Project|Make" menu item.
  3. Copy the plugin (or an alias) "Examples:CharFlipper:CharFlipper68k" to the navigator Plug-ins folder.
  4. With the Navigator (preferably 3.0b5 or above) open the file "Examples:CharFlipper:Testing:CharFlipperExample.html".