Lynx (web browser)
 Wikipedia Article displayed in Lynx |
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| Developer(s) | Thomas Dickey |
|---|---|
| Initial release | c. 1992 |
| Stable release | 2.8.7rel.2 (June 21, 2010) [+/−] |
| Preview release | 2.8.8dev.4 (June 21, 2010) [+/−] |
| Written in | ISO C |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Available in | ? |
| Type | web browser |
| License | GNU GPL[1] |
| Website | lynx.isc.org |
Lynx is a text-based web browser for use on cursor-addressable character cell terminals[2] and is very configurable.[3]
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[edit] Usage
Browsing in Lynx consists of highlighting the chosen link using cursor keys, or having all links on a page numbered and entering the chosen link's number. Current versions support SSL[3] and many HTML features. Tables are linearized (scrunched together one cell after another without tabular structure),[2] while frames are identified by name and can be explored as if they were separate pages. Lynx cannot inherently display various types of non-text content on the web, such as images and video,[2] but it can launch external programs to handle it, such as an image viewer or a video player.
Because of its text-to-speech–friendly interface,[4] Lynx was once popular with visually impaired users, but better screen readers have reduced the appeal of this application.[4] Lynx is also used to check for usability of websites in older browsers. It is still included in a number of Unix products and Linux distributions, and is particularly useful for reading documentation or downloading files when only a text-based environment is available. It is also useful for accessing websites from a remotely connected system in which no graphical display is available. Despite its text-only nature and age, it can still be used to effectively browse much of the modern web, including performing interactive tasks such as editing Wikipedia. The speed benefits of text-only browsing are most apparent when using low bandwidth internet connections, or older computer hardware that may be slow to render image-heavy content.
[edit] Privacy
Because Lynx does not support graphics, web bugs that track user information are not fetched, and emails can be read without the privacy concerns of graphic web browsers[5]—though many webmail services today disable images in emails by default, and most graphic web browsers allow images to be disabled as well.[citation needed]
Lynx does support HTTP cookies,[2] which can also be used to track user information, but it does not support JavaScript and thusly, JavaScript cookies, which some websites require to work correctly. However, like most web browsers, cookie support can be disabled in Lynx. Similarly, Lynx also supports browsing histories and page caching, both of which can raise privacy concerns.[citation needed]
[edit] Development history
Lynx was a product of the Distributed Computing Group within Academic Computing Services of the University of Kansas,[5] and was initially developed in 1992 by a team of students at the university (Lou Montulli, Michael Grobe and Charles Rezac) as a hypertext browser used solely to distribute campus information as part of a Campus-Wide Information Server and for browsing the Gopher space.[4] Beta availability was announced to Usenet on 22 July 1992.[6] In 1993 Montulli added an Internet interface and released a new version (2.0) of the browser.[7][8]
Garrett Blythe created DosLynx in April 1994 [9] and later joined the Lynx effort as well. Foteos Macrides ported much of Lynx to VMS and maintained it for a time. In 1995, Lynx was released under the GNU General Public License, and is now maintained by a group of volunteers led by Thomas Dickey.
[edit] Platforms and features
Lynx was originally designed for Unix and VMS and is a popular console browser on Linux. Versions are also available for DOS, recent versions run on all Microsoft Windows releases, and Mac OS X.[10][11] There was also an early port to "Classic" Macintosh version called MacLynx "for System 7 and later".[12] Ports to BeOS, MINIX, QNX, AmigaOS[5] and OS/2 (called Lynx/2)[5] are also available.
Lynx is based on the libwww[13][14] and thus supports many computer protocols: Gopher, HTTP, HTTPS,[3] FTP, WAIS, and NNTP.
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lynx web browser |
[edit] References
- ^ "COPYHEADER for Lynx 2.8.7". October 2, 2006. http://lynx.isc.org/lynx2.8.7/lynx2-8-7/COPYHEADER.
- ^ a b c d Rakitin, Jason (27 Oktober 1997). "Review: Alternative Web browsers". Network World Fusion. Archived from the original on 5October 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/20011005005015/www.nwfusion.com/news/1997/1027browser2.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Legan, Dallas (September 2001). "Text-Mode Web Browsers for OS/2". The Southern California OS/2 User Group. http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2001/scoug009.textbrowsers.html. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ a b c Bolso, Erik Inge (8 March 2005). "2005 Text Mode Browser Roundup". Linux Journal. http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8148. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d Legan, Dallas E. (October 2002). "Lynx on OS/2: Straight Answers and Keen Tricks - Part 1 - Start Using the Lynx Browser". The Southern California OS/2 User Group. http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2002/scoug210.lynx1.html. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ http://groups.google.com/group/alt.hypertext/msg/de730e3e5c2b2e54
- ^ "Web Browser History". Living Internet. http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wi_browse.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ Lynn H. Nelson (2000-11-07). "Before the Web: the early development of History on-line". http://chnm.gmu.edu/digitalhistory/links/pdf/chapter1/1.2b.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ http://www.fdisk.com/doslynx/BETAHYPE.HTM
- ^ "Lynx for DOS 386+ or Win32". http://www.fdisk.com/doslynx/lynxport.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ^ "Lynx text web browser 2.8.7d9u". Apple Inc.. 2008-01-28. http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_source/lynxtextwebbrowser.html. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- ^ Adams, Chris. "MacLynx, a text-only browser". http://ccadams.org/se/lynx.html. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ^ Kahan, José (7 June 2002). "Change History of libwww". World Wide Web Consortium. http://www.w3.org/Library/User/History.html. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ Kahan, José (5 August 1999). "Why Libwww?". World Wide Web Consortium. http://www.w3.org/Library/Activity.html. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
[edit] External links
- Lynx homepage (old but still cited: doslynx, Lynx links and original)
- Michael Grobe's personal recollections of Lynx development
- Extremely Lynx resource page from version 2.7
- MacLynx
- Lynx for Mac OS X 2.8.7d13u
- Lynx for Windows 2.8.5rel1 installer
- Lynx on OS/2
- Test how your site looks like on Lynx
- Learn how to use Lynx
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