Mozilla Firefox 3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  |
|
 Firefox 3.0 displaying Wikipedia |
|
| Developer(s) | Mozilla Corporation, Mozilla Foundation |
|---|---|
| Initial release | June 17, 2008 |
| Stable release | 3.5 (2009-06-30) [+/−] |
| Preview release | none (n/a) [+/−] |
| Written in | C++, XUL, XBL, JavaScript |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, BSD, Solaris |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Size | 7.2 MB (Windows), 17.2 MB (Mac OS X), 8.7 MB (Linux) (all archived) |
| Available in | Over 60 languages |
| Development status | Active |
| Type | Web browser, FTP client, gopher client |
| License | MPL/GPL/LGPL/Mozilla EULA (for binary redistribution) |
| Website | firefox.com |
| Mozilla Firefox (category) |
|---|
| Contents |
| Origins and Lineage |
|
|
Mozilla Firefox 3 is a version of Mozilla Firefox, a web browser released on June 17, 2008 by the Mozilla Corporation. [1]
Firefox 3 uses version 1.9 of the Gecko layout engine for displaying web pages. The new version fixes many bugs, improves standard compliance, and implements new web APIs compared to Firefox 2.0. Other new features include a redesigned download manager, a new "Places" system for storing bookmarks and history, and separate themes for different operating systems.
Firefox 3 had 5.67% of the recorded usage share of web browsers by July 2008, and had over 8 million unique downloads the day it was released, setting a Guinness World Record.[2] Current estimates of Firefox 3's global market share are generally in the range of 20-30%.[3][4][5]
It was codenamed Gran Paradiso during its development, which included 8 alphas, 5 betas, and 3 release candidates released over 2007 and early 2008. Development continued with a planned 3.1 version codenamed Shiretoko during the summer of 2008. [6]
Contents |
[edit] Development
The development name for Mozilla Firefox 3.0 was Gran Paradiso.[7] "Gran Paradiso", like other Firefox development names, is the name of an actual place; in this case the seventh-highest mountain in the Graian Alps.
In 2006, the development team asked users to submit feature requests that they wish to be included in Firefox 3.[8]
The Mozilla Foundation released the first beta on November 19, 2007,[9] the second beta on December 18, 2007,[9] the third beta on February 12, 2008, the fourth beta on March 10, 2008, and the fifth and final beta on April 2, 2008.[10] The first release candidate was released on 16 May 2008. The second release candidate was released on June 4, 2008 followed by a third release candidate (differing from the second release candidate only in that it corrected a serious bug for Mac users) on June 11, 2008. Mozilla shipped the final release on June 17, 2008.[1][11] The final release of Firefox 3.0 featured in popular culture, mentioned on, among others, The Colbert Report on its release date.[12]
[edit] Version 3.5
After three initial beta releases under the Firefox 3.1 moniker, Mozilla developers have decided to change the numbering of this release to version 3.5, to reflect a significantly greater scope of changes than was originally planned.[13] Version 3.5, codenamed Shiretoko,[14] is planned to include support for the <video> tag as defined in the HTML 5 specification. Cross-site XMLHttpRequests (XHR), which would allow for more powerful web applications and an easier way to implement mashups, is also in planning. Native JSON DOM binding, a powerful feature for web developers, may also be included, together with full CSS 3 selector support.[15][16] Firefox 3.5 will use the Gecko 1.9.1 engine, which includes a few features that were not included in the 3.0 release.[17] A popular feature named Private Browsing, often called Porn mode, will also be added. A minor change will be made for Russian builds of Firefox 3.5: the popular Russian search engine Yandex will become the default search engine (rather than Google as with previous releases), due to the result of a survey of Russian Firefox users who preferred Yandex over Google.[18]
Version 3.1 Alpha 1 was released in late July 2008.[19]
Version 3.1 Alpha 2 was launched on September 6, 2008, adding new video support and enhancing the speed of some JavaScript computations. Code named "Shiretoko", Mozilla said it will be the last in a short series of alpha editions. Timely released just days after Google introduced Google Chrome.[20][21][22]
On October 14, 2008, the first beta of Firefox 3.1 was released,[23] on December 8, 2008, Firefox 3.1 Beta 2 was released,[24] on March 12, 2009, Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 was released,[25], and on April 27th, 2009, Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 was released,[26] followed by Firefox 3.5 Preview [27] (with the version number 3.5b99) on June 8th, 2009 and Release Candidates (rc1, rc2, and rc3) on June 16th, 2009, June 19th, 2009, and June 24th, 2009 respectively.[28]
[edit] Subsequent 3.6 release
The release following Firefox 3.1 (since changed to Firefox 3.5) was originally referred to as 3.2. Since the change, Mozilla developer Mike Shaver has indicated that the release number will be referred to as 3.6 ad interim.[29] The preliminary releases of upcoming Firefox releases are codenamed "Minefield", as this is the name of the trunk builds. At the 2008 Firefox Summit, it was announced that development would be aimed for a release of Firefox 3.1 (3.5) in December, and Firefox 3.2 (3.6) in the second quarter of 2009, both these development branches branching off the trunk builds. As of December 2, the daily development trunk has begun showcasing pre-release builds of the first Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1 Pre (Preview release).
A new tab-switching interface previously intended for 3.5 is due to be included in 3.6.[30]
[edit] Changes and features
[edit] Backend changes
One of the big changes in Firefox 3 is the implementation of Gecko 1.9, an updated layout engine. The new version fixes many bugs, improves standard compliance, and implements new web APIs.[31] In particular, it makes Firefox 3 the first official release of a Mozilla browser to pass the Acid2 test, a standards-compliance test for web-page rendering. It also gets a better score on the Acid3 test than Firefox 2.
Some of the new features are defined in the WHATWG HTML 5 specification,[31] such as support for web-based protocol handlers, a native implementation of the getElementsByClassName method, support for safe message-passing with postMessage, and support for offline web applications. Other new features include APNG support, and EXSLT support.[31]
A new internal memory allocator, jemalloc,[32] is used rather than the default libc one.[33][dead link]
Gecko 1.9 uses Cairo as a graphics backend,[34] allowing for improved graphics performance and better consistency of look and feel on various operating systems. Because of Cairo's lack of support for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows NT (versions 4.0 and below), and because Microsoft ended support for Windows 98 and Windows Me on July 11, 2006, Firefox 3 does not run on those operating systems. Similarly, the Mac version of Firefox 3 runs only on Mac OS X 10.4 or higher,[35] but, unlike previous versions, has a native Cocoa widget interface.[36]
[edit] Frontend changes
As for the frontend changes, Firefox features a redesigned download manager with built-in search and the ability to resume downloads.[37] Also, a new plug-in manager is included in the add-ons window[38] and extensions can be installed with a package manager. Microformats are supported for use by software that can understand their use in documents to store data in a machine-readable form.[39]
The password manager in Firefox 3 asks the user if they would like it to remember the password after the log on attempt rather than before. By doing this users are able to avoid storing an incorrect password in the password manager after a bad log on attempt.[40]
Firefox 3 uses a "Places" system for storing bookmarks and history in an SQLite backend.[41] The new system stores more information about user's history and bookmarks, in particular letting the user tag the pages. It is also used to implement an improved algorithm for the new location bar auto-complete feature (dubbed the "Awesomebar").[42][43]
The Mac version of Firefox 3 supports Growl notifications, the OS X spell checker, and Aqua-style form controls.
[edit] Themes
To give the browser a more native look and feel on different operating systems, Firefox 3 uses separate themes for Mac OS X, Linux, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. When running on GNOME, Firefox 3 displays icons from the environment; thus, when the desktop environment icon theme changes, Firefox follows suit.[44] Additional icons were also made to be used when no appropriate icon exists; these were made following the Tango Desktop Project guidelines.[45] Additionally, the GTK version has replaced the non-native tab bar that was implemented in Firefox 2.0 and instead uses the native GTK+ tab style.
The default icons and icon layout for Firefox 3 also changed dramatically, taking on a keyhole shape for the forward and back buttons by default on two of the three platforms.[46] However, the keyhole shape does not take effect in Linux or in the small-icon mode. The Iconfactory created the icons for the Microsoft Windows platform. In addition, separate icons sets are displayed for Windows XP and Vista.
Windows Vista "Strata"[47] visual style. |
Windows XP "Strata"[47] visual style. |
|
Linux "Tango"[47] visual style (icons changed based on applied GTK+ 2 theme). |
[edit] Breakpad
Breakpad (previously called "Airbag") is an open-source crash reporter utility which replaced the proprietary Talkback. It is being developed by Google and Mozilla, and used in Firefox and Thunderbird.[48][49] This product is significant because it is the first open source multi-platform crash reporting system.[citation needed]
During development Breakpad was first included May 27, 2007, in Firefox 3 trunk builds on Windows NT and Mac OS X, and, weeks later, on Linux.[50] Breakpad replaced Talkback (also known as the Quality Feedback Agent) as the crash reporter used by the Mozilla software to report crashes of its products to a centralized server for aggregation or case-by-case analysis.[51] Talkback was proprietary software licensed to the Mozilla Corporation by SupportSoft.
[edit] Usage
| Firefox usage share by version — NetApplications.com, May 2009[52] |
|
| Firefox 1.0 | 0.05% |
|---|---|
| Firefox 1.5 | 0.15% |
| Firefox 2.0 | 1.63% |
| Firefox 3.0 | 20.43% |
| Firefox 3.5 | 0.23% |
| All versions[53] | 22.51% |
NetApplications noted that the use of Firefox 3 beta rapidly increased to a usage share of 0.62% in May 2008. They interpreted this increase to mean that Firefox 3 betas were stable and that users were using it as their primary browser.[54] Within 24 hours after the release of Firefox 3.0, usage rose from under 1% to over 3% according to NetApplications.[55]
[edit] Guinness World Record
 |
Wikinews has related news: Mozilla sets record for most software downloads in 24 hours |
The official date for the launch of Firefox 3 was June 17, 2008, named "Download Day 2008". Firefox was aiming to set the record for most software downloads in 24 hours.
Download Day officially started at 11:16 a.m. PDT (18:16 UTC) on June 17.[56] With the announced date, the download day was June 18 for timezones greater than GMT +6, which includes half of Asia and all of Oceania.
The large number of users attempting to access the Mozilla website on June 17 caused it to become unavailable for at least a few hours and attempts at upgrading to the new version resulted in server timeouts. The site was not updated for the download of Firefox 3 until 12:00 PDT (19:00 UTC), two hours later than originally scheduled.[57][58]
When "Download Day" ended at 11:16 AM PDT (18:16 UTC) June 18,[59] 8,249,092 unique downloads had been recorded.[60] On July 2 Mozilla announced they had won the record, with 8,002,530 unique downloads [61] with parties in over 25 countries [62]. As of July 7, 2008, more than 31 million people had downloaded Firefox 3.[63][64]
Gareth Deaves, Records Manager for Guinness World Records, complimented Mozilla, saying, "Mobilizing over 8 million internet users within 24 hours is an extremely impressive accomplishment and we would like to congratulate the Mozilla community for their hard work and dedication."[65]
[edit] Critical response
While the new functionality of the location bar, dubbed the "Awesomebar", was overall well received,[66] there were those who did not like it due to user interface and performance changes,[67][68][69] so much that extensions were made to revert it.[70][71] Firefox 3 received CNET Editors' Choice in June 2008.[72]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Coming Tuesday, June 17th: Firefox 3". Mozilla Developer News. https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2008/06/11/coming-tuesday-june-17th-firefox-3/.
- ^ "Market share for browsers, operating systems and search engines". Net Applications. http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=2. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Browser Version Market Share". Net Applications. May 2009. http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=2. Retrieved on 2009-06-17.
- ^ "Global Web Stats". W3Counter. May 2009. http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php. Retrieved on 2009-06-17.
- ^ "StatCounter Global Stats". StatCounter. http://gs.statcounter.com/#browser_version-ww-daily-20080701-20090614. Retrieved on 2009-06-17.
- ^ PC Pro: News: Firefox aims for 3.1 release this month
- ^ Vukicevic, Vladimir (June 2, 2006). "Gecko 1.9/Firefox 3 ("Gran Paradiso") Planning Meeting, Wednesday June 7, 11:00 am". Google Groups: mozilla.dev.planning. http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.dev.planning/browse_thread/thread/c73f6a1c25e8e7b0/b714ca46975f0109#b714ca46975f0109. Retrieved on 2006-09-17.
- ^ Reimer, Jeremy (2006-10-13). "Firefox accepting feature suggestions for version 3". Arstechnica.com. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061013-7986.html. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ a b Mike Beltzner. "Firefox 3 Beta 1 now available for download". Mozilla Developer News. https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2007/11/19/firefox-3-beta-1-now-available-for-download/.
- ^ Rooney, Paula (2008-02-26). "Firefox 3 beta 4 code freeze tonight, beta 5 release looks likely". ZDNet. http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2064. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
- ^ Anick Jesdanun; Associated Press (2008-06-12). "New Firefox Web browser to be released Tuesday". Delaware News-Journal (New York: Gannett Corporation). http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080612/BUSINESS/80612028/-1/NLETTER02&source=nletter-news. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
- ^ "Colbert Report episode June 17, 17th minute.". http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=173608. Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
- ^ beltzner (2009-03-06). "Shiretoko to be named Firefox 3.5". Mozilla. https://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2009/03/06/shiretoko-to-be-named-firefox-35/. Retrieved on 2009-03-08.
- ^ "Firefox 3.1 "Shiretoko"". 2008-06-12. https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox3.1. Retrieved on 2008-06-12.
- ^ "Firefox 3.1 passes selectors test". 2008-06-05. http://www.css3.info/firefox-31-is-the-latest-to-pass-our-selectors-test/. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Firefox 3.1 New Features". 2008-06-09. http://mozillalinks.org/wp/2008/05/firefox-31-targeted-for-years-end/. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
- ^ "Very early draft of Firefox 3.1 plan available for comment". 2008-06-10. http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.dev.planning/browse_thread/thread/c05862de4d261bd4#. Retrieved on 2008-06-16.
- ^ Shankland, Stephen (January 9th, 2009). "Firefox in Russia dumps Google for Yandex". CNET News. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10138969-2.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-10.
- ^ Percy Cabello (2008-07-29), First step to Firefox 3.1: Alpha 1 is here, Mozilla Links, http://mozillalinks.org/wp/2008/07/first-step-to-firefox-31-alpha-1-is-here/, retrieved on 2008-07-29
- ^ computerworld.com, Mozilla updates Firefox 3.1 with Alpha 2 build
- ^ stuff.techwhack.com, Firefox 3.1 Alpha 2 released
- ^ news.cnet.com, Mozilla releases second Firefox 3.1 alpha
- ^ Firefox 3.1 beta Release Notes
- ^ http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.1b2/releasenotes/
- ^ http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.1b3/releasenotes/
- ^ http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.5b4/releasenotes/
- ^ http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.5b99/releasenotes/
- ^ http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.5rc3/releasenotes/
- ^ "Firefox 3.1 becoming Firefox 3.5". Google Groups. March 5th, 2009. http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.dev.planning/browse_thread/thread/e7ebcc63e5451416. Retrieved on 2009-03-06.
- ^ "Tab Navigation: Tradeoffs". 2008-08-18. http://www.toolness.com/wp/?p=127. Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
- ^ a b c "Firefox 3 for developers". Mozilla Developer Center. 2007-07-17. https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Firefox_3_for_developers. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- ^ Evans, Jason (2006-04-16). "A Scalable Concurrent malloc(3) Implementation for FreeBSD" (PDF). http://people.freebsd.org/~jasone/jemalloc/bsdcan2006/jemalloc.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
- ^ Michael John Ventnor. "Beta 3!". http://ventnorsblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/beta-3.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
- ^ "Mozilla Cairo Vector Graphics". mozillaZine. 2005-04-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20060219212346/http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=6498. Retrieved on 2007-01-24. A page describing the future usage of Cairo.
- ^ "Gran Paradiso - System Requirements". mozilla.org. http://www.mozilla.org/projects/granparadiso/system-requirements.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
- ^ CNET staff (2006-12-12). "Firefox 3 (Gran Paradiso) Alpha 1". ZDNet.co.uk. http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/software/productivity/0,1000001108,39285100,00.htm. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ "Firefox 3 Beta 1 Release Notes date=2007-11-19". mozilla.com. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.0b1/releasenotes/. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
- ^ Cabello, Percy (2007-08-11). "First look to Firefox 3’s new download manager". mozillalinks.org. http://mozillalinks.org/wp/2007/08/first-look-to-firefox-3s-new-download-manager/. Retrieved on 2007-08-12.
- ^ "Microformats (Mozilla Wiki)". 2007-05-24. https://wiki.mozilla.org/Microformats. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
- ^ Cabello, Percy (2007-09-01). "Firefox’s password manager gets smarter". mozillalinks.org. http://mozillalinks.org/wp/2007/09/firefoxs-password-manager-gets-smarter/. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
- ^ Mozilla Wiki contributors (2006-10-16). "Places". Mozilla Wiki. https://wiki.mozilla.org/index.php?title=Places&oldid=46000. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ 3.0a8 release notes
- ^ Places:Fx3UIPlan - MozillaWiki
- ^ Ryan Paul (2007-11-15). "A first look at the Firefox 3 visual refresh for Linux". http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2007/11/15/afirst-look-at-the-firefox-3-visual-refresh-for-linux. Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
- ^ Alex Faaborg (2007-11-13). "A first look at the Firefox 3 visual refresh for Linux". http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/2007/11/13/update-on-the-firefox-3-linux-theme/. Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
- ^ Alex Faaborg (2007-01-23). "Keyhole Shape". Alex Faaborg. http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/2008/01/22/navigation-toolbar-on-windows/. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
- ^ a b c d Firefox 3: Tango, Strata, Firelight - Mozilla Links
- ^ Deploying the Airbag. BSBlog (Mozilla developer Benjamin Smedberg's weblog).
- ^ Using Breakpad with Gran Paradiso (1.9a3). BSBlog (Mozilla developer Benjamin Smedberg's weblog).
- ^ Bug 381099 – Turn on crash reporting by default (Win+Mac), mozilla.org bug tracker]
- ^ "Mozilla Talkback server". http://talkback-public.mozilla.org. Retrieved on 2006-09-21.
- ^ "Browser Version Market Share". NetApplications.com. 2009-06-01. http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=2&qpmr=40&qpdt=1&qpct=3&qptimeframe=M. Retrieved on 2009-06-07.
- ^ "Browser Market Share". NetApplications.com. May, 2009. http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0&qpmr=100&qpdt=1&qpct=3&qptimeframe=M. Retrieved on 2009-06-07.
- ^ "Firefox 3.0 BETA Gaining Market Share". NetApplications. http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=3&qpcustom=Firefox+3.0&sample=11. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
- ^ "Firefox 3.0 Usage Share (EDT)". Net Applications. 2008-06-19. http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=31. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
- ^ The Official Download Day Time at www.spreadfirefox.com
- ^ Kelly Fiveash (2008-06-17). "Firefox 3 Download Day falls flat on face". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/17/firefox_3_debuts/. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
- ^ The Mozilla Blog - Firefox 3 coming soon!
- ^ Download Day is here!:: The Mozilla Blog
- ^ Firefox 3 sets new Download World Record, I4U News
- ^ Spread Firefox | Download Day 2008
- ^ "http://article.ezedir.com/news/article_Mozilla_The_Record_Maker_2008_07_02.html". 2008-07-23. http://article.ezedir.com/news/article_Mozilla_The_Record_Maker_2008_07_02.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
- ^ "http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/". 2008-06-17. http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/. Retrieved on 2008-06-17.
- ^ "Live Firefox Download Counter". 2008-06-19. http://downloadcounter.sj.mozilla.com/. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
- ^ Naventi, Steve (2008-07-02). "Mozilla Sets New Guinness World Record with Firefox 3 Downloads". Mozilla. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/press/mozilla-2008-07-02.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-07.
- ^ Seltzer, Larry (2008-06-18). "First Impressions of Firefox 3". Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/First-Impressions-of-Firefox-3/. Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
- ^ Muchmore, Michael (2008-07-30). "Firefox Alpha Improves the AwesomeBar". pcmag. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2326835,00.asp. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
- ^ Brinkmann, Martin (2008-06-14). "Firefox 3 Location Bar Controversy". http://www.ghacks.net/2008/06/14/firefox-3-location-bar-controversy/. Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
- ^ ""AwesomeBar" is totally NOT awesome". MozillaZine. http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=640174. Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
- ^ Spitzer, Seth (2008-02-14). "oldbar :: Firefox Add-ons:". Mozilla. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6227. Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
- ^ "Old Location Bar :: Firefox Add-ons:". Mozilla. 2008-06-19. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7637. Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
- ^ "Firefox 3 Browser reviews - CNET Reviews". http://reviews.cnet.com/browsers/firefox-3/4505-3514_7-33087853.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-18.
[edit] External links
- Mozilla Firefox homepage for end-users
- Mozilla Firefox project page for developers
- Mozilla EULA
- Mozilla Firefox 3 at the Open Directory Project
- Secunia.com − Vulnerability report for Mozilla Firefox 3.x
- Review of Firefox (PC Magazine)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
