Firefox 3

All you want to know about Firefox 3

Mozilla Firefox 3
Mozilla Firefox Icon

Firefox 3.0 on GTK+/X11 displaying Wikipedia
Developed by Mozilla Corporation, Mozilla Foundation
Initial release June 17, 2008 (2008-06-17)
Stable release 3.0.3  (2008-09-26; 15 days ago) [+/−]
Written in C++, XUL, XBL, JavaScript
OS Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
Platform Cross-platform
Size 7.2 MB (Windows), 17.2 MB (Mac OS X), 8.7 MB (Linux) (all archived)
Available in Over 45 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
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Mozilla Firefox 3 is a version of Mozilla Firefox, a web browser released on June 17, 2008 by the Mozilla Corporation.

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. 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.[1]

It was codenamed Gran Paradiso during its development, which included 8 alpha, 5 beta, 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. [2]

Contents

Development

The development name for Mozilla Firefox 3.0 was Gran Paradiso.[3] "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.[4]

The Mozilla Foundation released the first beta on 19 November 2007,[5] the second beta on 18 December 2007,[5] the third beta on 12 February 2008, the fourth beta on 10 March 2008, and the fifth and final beta on 2 April 2008.[6] The first release candidate was released on 16 May 2008. The second release candidate was released on 4 June 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 11 June 2008. Mozilla shipped the final release on June 17, 2008.[7][8] The final release of Firefox 3.0 featured in popular culture, mentioned on, among others, The Colbert Report on its release date.[9]

See also: History of Mozilla Firefox

Version 3.1

The precursory releases of upcoming Firefox releases are codenamed "Minefield", as this is the name of the trunk builds. Development of Firefox after version 3.0 is split over two milestones: version 3.1 and version 4.0. Firefox 3.0, formerly in the development stage, was released to the general public on June 17, 2008.[7] Development for the 3.1 releases takes place on the Mozilla trunk, with releases and pre-release nightly builds coming from the Mozilla 1.8.1 branch (2.0) and the Mozilla 1.9 branch (3.0). Development for 4.0 will be based on Mozilla 2.

Version 3.1, codenamed Shiretoko,[10] 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.[11][12] Firefox 3.1 will use the Gecko 1.9.1 engine, which includes a few features that were not included in the 3.0 release.[13]

A new operating-system-like tab-switching interface is due to be included in 3.1.[14]

Version 3.1 Alpha 1 was released in late July 2008. [15]

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, and timely released just days after Google introduced competing Chrome software Google Chrome.[16][17][18]

Changes and features

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.[19] 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,[19] 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.[19]

A new internal memory allocator, jemalloc,[20] is used rather than the default libc one.[21][dead link]

Gecko 1.9 uses Cairo as a graphics backend,[22] 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,[23] but, unlike previous versions, has a native Cocoa widget interface.[24]

Frontend changes

New Firefox 3 Download Manager in Ubuntu Studio.
New Firefox 3 Download Manager in Ubuntu Studio.

As for the frontend changes, Firefox features a redesigned download manager with built-in search and the ability to resume downloads.[25] Also, a new plug-in manager is included in the add-ons window[26] 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.[27]

New location bar auto-complete feature in Firefox 3.
New location bar auto-complete feature in Firefox 3.

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.[28]

Firefox 3 uses a "Places" system for storing bookmarks and history in an SQLite backend.[29] 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.")[30][31]

The Mac version of Firefox 3 supports Growl notifications, the OS X spell checker, and Aqua-style form controls.

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, Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows Vista. When running on GNOME, Firefox 3 displays icons from the environment; thus, when the desktop environment icon theme changes, Firefox follows suit.[32] Additional icons were also made to be used when no appropriate icon exists; these were made following the Tango Desktop Project guidelines.[33] 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.[34] 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.

Microsoft Windows Vista "Strata"[35] visual style.
Microsoft Windows XP "Strata"[35] visual style.
Mac OS X "Firelight"[35] visual style.
Linux "Tango"[35] theme on Ubuntu.

Breakpad

Mozilla Crash Reporter on Debian GNU/Linux with Xfce4
Mozilla Crash Reporter on Debian GNU/Linux with Xfce4

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.[36][37] This product is significant because it is the first open source multi-platform crash reporting system.

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.[38] 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.[39] Talkback was proprietary software licensed to the Mozilla Corporation by SupportSoft.

Usage

Firefox market share by version
— NetApplications.com, September, 2008[40]
Firefox 1.0 0.18%
Firefox 1.5 0.32%
Firefox 2.0 5.79%
Firefox 3.0 13.24%
All versions[41] 19.46%

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.[42] Within 24 hours after the release of Firefox 3.0, usage rose from under 1% to over 3% according to NetApplications.[43]

Guinness World Record

World map of all downloads of Mozilla Firefox since June 17, 2008
World map of all downloads of Mozilla Firefox since June 17, 2008

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.[44] 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.[45][46]

When "Download Day" ended at 11:16 AM PDT (18:16 UTC) June 18,[47] 8,249,092 unique downloads had been recorded.[48] On July 2 Mozilla announced they had won the record, with 8,002,530 unique downloads [49] with parties in over 25 countries [50]. As of July 7, 2008, more than 31 million people had downloaded Firefox 3.[51][52]

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."[53]

Critical response

The most popular criticism was that of the new default interface for Mac OS X and Windows. While the new functionality of the location bar, dubbed "Awesomebar", was overall well received [54], there were those who didn't like it due to UI and performance changes [55][56][57], so much that extensions were made to revert it.[58][59] Firefox 3 received CNET Editors' Choice, June 2008[60]

Release compatibility

Operating system Compatibility
Linux kernel 2.2.14 and newer
(with some libraries)		 3.0.3 [61]
Apple
Mac OS X		 v10.1 Puma NoN
v10.2 Jaguar-10.3 Panther NoN
v10.4 Tiger-10.5 Leopard 3.0.3 [61]
OS/2 and eComStation 3.0.3 [62]
Microsoft
Windows		 95 NoN
NT 4/98/Me NoN
2000/XP/2003/Vista/
Home Server/2008		 3.0.3

References

  1. ^ "Market share for browsers, operating systems and search engines". Net Applications. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
  2. ^ PC Pro: News: Firefox aims for 3.1 release this month
  3. ^ 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. Retrieved on 2006-09-17.
  4. ^ Reimer, Jeremy (2006-10-13). "Firefox accepting feature suggestions for version 3". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  5. ^ a b Mike Beltzner. "Firefox 3 Beta 1 now available for download". Mozilla Developer News.
  6. ^ Rooney, Paula (2008-02-26). "Firefox 3 beta 4 code freeze tonight, beta 5 release looks likely", ZDNet. Retrieved on 2008-02-29. 
  7. ^ a b "Coming Tuesday, June 17th: Firefox 3". Mozilla Developer News.
  8. ^ Anick Jesdanun; Associated Press (2008-06-12). "New Firefox Web browser to be released Tuesday", Delaware News-Journal (New York), Gannett Corporation. Retrieved on 2008-06-13. 
  9. ^ "Colbert Report episode 17 June, 17th minute.". Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
  10. ^ "Firefox 3.1 "Shiretoko"" (2008-06-12). Retrieved on 2008-06-12.
  11. ^ "Firefox 3.1 passes selectors test" (2008-06-05). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  12. ^ "Firefox 3.1 New Features" (2008-06-09). Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  13. ^ "Very early draft of Firefox 3.1 plan available for comment" (2008-06-10). Retrieved on 2008-06-16.
  14. ^ "Tab Navigation: Tradeoffs" (2008-08-18). Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
  15. ^ 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 29 July 2008 
  16. ^ computerworld.com, Mozilla updates Firefox 3.1 with Alpha 2 build
  17. ^ stuff.techwhack.com, Firefox 3.1 Alpha 2 released
  18. ^ news.cnet.com, Mozilla releases second Firefox 3.1 alpha
  19. ^ a b c "Firefox 3 for developers". Mozilla Developer Center (2007-07-17). Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  20. ^ Evans, Jason (2006-04-16). "A Scalable Concurrent malloc(3) Implementation for FreeBSD" (PDF). Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  21. ^ Michael John Ventnor. "Beta 3!". Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  22. ^ "Mozilla Cairo Vector Graphics". mozillaZine (April 24, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-24. A page describing the future usage of Cairo.
  23. ^ "Gran Paradiso - System Requirements". mozilla.org. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  24. ^ CNET staff (2006-12-12). "Firefox 3 (Gran Paradiso) Alpha 1". ZDNet.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  25. ^ "Firefox 3 Beta 1 Release Notes date=2007-11-19". mozilla.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  26. ^ Cabello, Percy (2007-08-11). "First look to Firefox 3’s new download manager". mozillalinks.org. Retrieved on 2007-08-12.
  27. ^ "Microformats (Mozilla Wiki)" (2007-05-24). Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
  28. ^ Cabello, Percy (2007-09-01). "Firefox’s password manager gets smarter". mozillalinks.org. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  29. ^ Mozilla Wiki contributors (2006-10-16). "Places". Mozilla Wiki. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  30. ^ 3.0a8 release notes
  31. ^ Places:Fx3UIPlan - MozillaWiki
  32. ^ Ryan Paul (2007-11-15). "A first look at the Firefox 3 visual refresh for Linux". Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
  33. ^ Alex Faaborg (2007-11-13). "A first look at the Firefox 3 visual refresh for Linux". Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
  34. ^ Alex Faaborg (2007-01-23). "Keyhole Shape". Alex Faaborg. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
  35. ^ a b c d Firefox 3: Tango, Strata, Firelight - Mozilla Links
  36. ^ Deploying the Airbag. BSBlog (Mozilla developer Benjamin Smedberg's weblog).
  37. ^ Using Breakpad with Gran Paradiso (1.9a3). BSBlog (Mozilla developer Benjamin Smedberg's weblog).
  38. ^ Bug 381099 – Turn on crash reporting by default (Win+Mac), mozilla.org bug tracker]
  39. ^ "Mozilla Talkback server". Retrieved on 2006-09-21.
  40. ^ "Top Browser Share Trend". NetApplications.com (September, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
  41. ^ "Top Browser Share Trend". NetApplications.com (September, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
  42. ^ "Firefox 3.0 BETA Gaining Market Share". NetApplications. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  43. ^ "Firefox 3.0 Usage Share (EDT)". Net Applications (2008-06-19). Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
  44. ^ The Official Download Day Time at www.spreadfirefox.com
  45. ^ Kelly Fiveash (2008-06-17). "Firefox 3 Download Day falls flat on face". The Register. Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  46. ^ The Mozilla Blog - Firefox 3 coming soon!
  47. ^ Download Day is here!:: The Mozilla Blog
  48. ^ Firefox 3 sets new Download World Record, I4U News
  49. ^ Spread Firefox | Download Day 2008
  50. ^ "http://article.ezedir.com/news/article_Mozilla_The_Record_Maker_2008_07_02.html" (2008-07-23). Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
  51. ^ "http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/" (2008-06-17). Retrieved on 2008-06-17.
  52. ^ "Live Firefox Download Counter" (2008-06-19). Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
  53. ^ Naventi, Steve (2008-07-02). "Mozilla Sets New Guinness World Record with Firefox 3 Downloads". Mozilla. Retrieved on 2008-10-07.
  54. ^ Seltzer, Larry (2008-06-18). "First Impressions of Firefox 3". Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings. Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
  55. ^ Muchmore, Michael (2008-07-30). "Firefox Alpha Improves the AwesomeBar". pcmag. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
  56. ^ Brinkmann, Martin (2008-06-14). "Firefox 3 Location Bar Controversy". Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
  57. ^ ""AwesomeBar" is totally NOT awesome". MozillaZine. Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
  58. ^ Spitzer, Seth (2008-02-14). "oldbar :: Firefox Add-ons:". Mozilla. Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
  59. ^ "Old Location Bar :: Firefox Add-ons:". Mozilla (2008-06-19). Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
  60. ^ "Firefox 3 Browser reviews - CNET Reviews". Retrieved on 2008-07-18.
  61. ^ a b "Mozilla Firefox 2 System Requirements". Mozilla. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  62. ^ Warpzilla

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