4 ms·

> While work at Mozilla on Firefox OS has ceased, we very much need to continue to evolve the underlying code that comprises Gecko, our web platform engine, as

by wott 10y ago

> While work at Mozilla on Firefox OS has ceased, we very much need to continue to evolve the underlying code that comprises Gecko, our web platform engine, as part of the ongoing development of Firefox. So, according to the history of past announcements, if I translate from Mozilla speak to normal English, Gecko will be abandoned in March 2017.

creshal 10y ago
I don't think Servo is mature enough yet.
- bobajeff 10y ago
  However, WebKit and Chromium are. They are already experimenting on an Electron based browser called Tolfino and on iOS Firefox is built using the WebView.
  - freehunter 10y ago
    Mozilla experiments with a lot of stuff, and on iOS any browser has to be built with Webview. None of that means anything.
    - bobajeff 10y ago
      It means it's not impossible for them to consider.
      - Sylos 10y ago
        Right, but your comment made it sound like they would be experimenting with an Electron-based browser as a replacement for Firefox and that they were using WebKit on iOS voluntarily, which is both not true. You might not have meant it like that, but it's how misinformation is born.
        bobajeff 10y ago
        They'd have to be using the Batman method of deduction to reach such a conclusion based off my comment.
        freehunter 10y ago
        Let's follow the conversation: "Gecko is being abandoned." "But their replacement, Servo, isn't ready yet!" "That's true, but WebKit is and they already have a WebKit-based browser." If you don't want your comment considered in the context of the conversation you replied to, you can make a top-level comment instead.
        bobajeff 10y ago
        That's not really word for word. But I can see what you must have been thinking now.
    - aikah 10y ago
      The point is Mozilla previously said FirefoxOS would live on through Internet of Things projects when they discontinued Firefox phones. They are using the exact same PR when shutting down FireFoxOS relative to Gecko. The question is, is Mozilla capable of maintaining its own browser engine today? both from an engineering perspective and from a financial perspective ? Let's see where Rust and Servo are going in the next 3 years.
      - bobajeff 10y ago
        Yeah, but that's just how Mozilla's PR comes out. It doesn't mean they'll abandon Gecko. I think it's more likely they'll make Gecko/Firefox into community led projects and dissolve Mozilla Corporation.
  - dblohm7 10y ago
    1) Tofino (which has now ended) was just an experimental testbed for trying some new browser concepts. It was easier for them to use Electron than to contend with Gecko's ossified embedding APIs. Hopefully positron (https://github.com/mozilla/positron https://github.com/mozilla/positron) will allow us to use Gecko in the future. 2) Firefox iOS uses WebView not by choice, but because of Apple's App Store restrictions.
    - bobajeff 10y ago
      I didn't know Tolfino was ended already. I'm curious as whether the experiment ran it's course or if it was resources issue.
      - dblohm7 10y ago
        It ran its course. It was only supposed to be a three month project. See the original announcement: https://medium.com/project-tofino/browsers-innovators-dilemma-and-project-tofino-ef634c6164f0#.zi9xvtsl7 https://medium.com/project-tofino/browsers-innovators-dilemm...

by wott 10y ago

creshal 10y ago

I don't think Servo is mature enough yet.

bobajeff 10y ago
However, WebKit and Chromium are. They are already experimenting on an Electron based browser called Tolfino and on iOS Firefox is built using the WebView.
- freehunter 10y ago
  Mozilla experiments with a lot of stuff, and on iOS any browser has to be built with Webview. None of that means anything.
  - bobajeff 10y ago
    It means it's not impossible for them to consider.
    - Sylos 10y ago
      Right, but your comment made it sound like they would be experimenting with an Electron-based browser as a replacement for Firefox and that they were using WebKit on iOS voluntarily, which is both not true. You might not have meant it like that, but it's how misinformation is born.
      - bobajeff 10y ago
        They'd have to be using the Batman method of deduction to reach such a conclusion based off my comment.
        freehunter 10y ago
        Let's follow the conversation: "Gecko is being abandoned." "But their replacement, Servo, isn't ready yet!" "That's true, but WebKit is and they already have a WebKit-based browser." If you don't want your comment considered in the context of the conversation you replied to, you can make a top-level comment instead.
        bobajeff 10y ago
        That's not really word for word. But I can see what you must have been thinking now.
  - aikah 10y ago
    The point is Mozilla previously said FirefoxOS would live on through Internet of Things projects when they discontinued Firefox phones. They are using the exact same PR when shutting down FireFoxOS relative to Gecko. The question is, is Mozilla capable of maintaining its own browser engine today? both from an engineering perspective and from a financial perspective ? Let's see where Rust and Servo are going in the next 3 years.
    - bobajeff 10y ago
      Yeah, but that's just how Mozilla's PR comes out. It doesn't mean they'll abandon Gecko. I think it's more likely they'll make Gecko/Firefox into community led projects and dissolve Mozilla Corporation.
- dblohm7 10y ago
  1) Tofino (which has now ended) was just an experimental testbed for trying some new browser concepts. It was easier for them to use Electron than to contend with Gecko's ossified embedding APIs. Hopefully positron (https://github.com/mozilla/positron https://github.com/mozilla/positron) will allow us to use Gecko in the future. 2) Firefox iOS uses WebView not by choice, but because of Apple's App Store restrictions.
  - bobajeff 10y ago
    I didn't know Tolfino was ended already. I'm curious as whether the experiment ran it's course or if it was resources issue.
    - dblohm7 10y ago
      It ran its course. It was only supposed to be a three month project. See the original announcement: https://medium.com/project-tofino/browsers-innovators-dilemma-and-project-tofino-ef634c6164f0#.zi9xvtsl7 https://medium.com/project-tofino/browsers-innovators-dilemm...