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It would be interesting to compare development speed of Servo and ladybird. One is done in Rust, the other in modern C++. At least to an outsider like me it se

It would be interesting to compare development speed of Servo and ladybird. One is done in Rust, the other in modern C++. At least to an outsider like me it seems ladybird is moving much faster, although this could be due to reasons unrelated to the programming language.

epage 2y ago
At least for servo, it started as a research project. I imagine a lot of time was spent trying out ideas for WebRender or parallel CSS (two parts that made it into Firefox). I also assume starting a browser i easier than finishing a browser but I can't speak to where either is at on the difficut-to-finish spectrum.
tvshtr 2y ago
Ladybird is a browser, servo is a rendering engine. They have different aims. Some of Servo's components are developed by Mozilla for the use in Firefox. The first serious implementation of browser using Servo started very recently in the form of Verso.
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
  Is ladybird not using a custom rendering engine too? Or you mean they're following existing techniques more whereas servo is focused on research over production?
  - tvshtr 2y ago
    One of Servo's aims is to make an embeddable rendering engine; an alternative to chromium. Chrome/ium is not just a browser it powers everything nowadays, apps, all major alternative browsers run chromium underneath. And that's a huge problem.
    - 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
      Yeah but I thought the last comment was saying that Ladybird was developing faster than Servo. Does the embedding API add that much dev time?
      - tvshtr 2y ago
        The ecosystem of Servo is very very different. It's very modular and many components are fast moving targets developed by multiple companies. While with ladybird it's a comparatively singular thing (developed mostly by a single guy). The embedding is a serious and ambitious effort and possibly one of the reasons why Mozilla dropped it. It has to support vast array of ecosystems and compete with a very mature and widespread electron/chromium to cover the same use cases. It's a massive effort, but is already being experimentaly integrated by companies (like embedding into Qt toolkit).
      - tvshtr 2y ago
        And to simply put, Servo has a much larger scope, their aim is much wider than making a browser. The browser will be one of its use cases (It's already being developed intensely in the form of Verso by different team).
- junon 2y ago
  And verso is moving very, very fast.
  - tvshtr 2y ago
    I just hope that servo starts to move a little faster too. It's in serious need of funding.

epage 2y ago

At least for servo, it started as a research project. I imagine a lot of time was spent trying out ideas for WebRender or parallel CSS (two parts that made it into Firefox). I also assume starting a browser i easier than finishing a browser but I can't speak to where either is at on the difficut-to-finish spectrum.

tvshtr 2y ago

Ladybird is a browser, servo is a rendering engine. They have different aims. Some of Servo's components are developed by Mozilla for the use in Firefox. The first serious implementation of browser using Servo started very recently in the form of Verso.

01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
Is ladybird not using a custom rendering engine too? Or you mean they're following existing techniques more whereas servo is focused on research over production?
- tvshtr 2y ago
  One of Servo's aims is to make an embeddable rendering engine; an alternative to chromium. Chrome/ium is not just a browser it powers everything nowadays, apps, all major alternative browsers run chromium underneath. And that's a huge problem.
  - 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
    Yeah but I thought the last comment was saying that Ladybird was developing faster than Servo. Does the embedding API add that much dev time?
    - tvshtr 2y ago
      The ecosystem of Servo is very very different. It's very modular and many components are fast moving targets developed by multiple companies. While with ladybird it's a comparatively singular thing (developed mostly by a single guy). The embedding is a serious and ambitious effort and possibly one of the reasons why Mozilla dropped it. It has to support vast array of ecosystems and compete with a very mature and widespread electron/chromium to cover the same use cases. It's a massive effort, but is already being experimentaly integrated by companies (like embedding into Qt toolkit).
    - tvshtr 2y ago
      And to simply put, Servo has a much larger scope, their aim is much wider than making a browser. The browser will be one of its use cases (It's already being developed intensely in the form of Verso by different team).
junon 2y ago
And verso is moving very, very fast.
- tvshtr 2y ago
  I just hope that servo starts to move a little faster too. It's in serious need of funding.